A 

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BERKELEY 

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ymo.^^^ 


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HENRY  P.  WELLS. 


FLY-RODS  AND   FLY-TACKLE 

suggestions  as  to  their 
manufacture  and  use 

By     henry    p.    wells 

ILLUSTRATED 
REVISED  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1885,  1901,  by  Harper  ft  Brothers. 

All  riekt*  rturv4d. 


\^o\ 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 
Fish-hooks,  and  the  Piineiplea  which  Govern  their  Efficiency     .      9 

CHAPTER  II. 
How  Fish-?u>ok8  are  Hade J^. 

CHAPTER  III 
Lines 51 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Leaders 79 

CHAPTER  V. 
Reels 140 

CHAPTER  VI 
Rods  aiid  Rod  Material 150 

CHAPTER  VII 
Rod-making 210 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Repairs 290 


246 


}  TO 

[ 

i  FRANKLIN  S.  BILLINGS 

IN   GRATEFUL  REMEMBRANCE  OF  A   COMPANIONSHIP 
THAT   HAS   BRIGHTENED    MANY   A   CAMP- 
FIRE   IN   THE    WILDERNESS 


PREFACE. 


Eight  or  nine  years  ago  my  publishers  informed  me 
that  this  book  would  soon  be  out  of  print,  and  proposed 
a  new  edition.  I  replied  that  I  desired  to  revise  and 
partly,  at  least,  to  rewrite  it,  before  doing  which  I 
wished  to  begin  and  conclude  certain  experiments,  the 
deductions  from  which  I  believed  would  add  materially 
to  the  value  of  the  book.  Though  these  experiments 
were  many  in  number,  that  which  I  regarded  as  of  first 
importance  was  the  further  investigation  of  how  lines, 
leaders,  and  flies  appeared  to  trout  under  the  varying 
conditions  of  light  and  water  which  confront  the  angler 
when  rod  in  hand.  It  is  not  my  nature  to  be  content 
with  one  experiment  when  another  and  a  more  conclu- 
sive method  of  investigation  suggests  itself.  My  plan 
was  to  procure  a  diver's  outfit,  together  with  the  nec- 
essary skilled  assistance,  and  at  various  depths  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  over  light  and  dark  col- 
ored bottoms,  and  in  sunshine  and  shadow,  myself  im- 
personate a  fish  while  a  friend  angled  for  me,  as  it  were. 
Thus,  and  with  aid  of  telephonic  communication  and 
a  stenographer,  I  hoped  in  two  or  three  weeks'  time  to 
make  quite  an  impression  on  the  problem. 

But,  alas,  how  wide  the  divergence  between  inten- 
tion and  performance. 

Summer  after  summer  has  come  and  gone;  and  al- 


Preface, 

ways  it  has  been,  as  it  still  is,  when  the  warm  weather 
next  comes  I  will  surely  do  this  thing.  Still  it  may  be 
that  I  shall  never,  until  too  late,  find  opportunity  for 
this  investigation,  so  I  mention  the  matter  here  in  the 
hope  that  some  other,  more  fortunately  circumstanced, 
may  act  on  the  suggestion,  and  by  so  doing  earn,  as  he 
will  merit,  the  thanks  of  the  entire  angling  fraternity. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  winter  of  1900  was  upon  me 
and  nothing  towards  the  revision  of  this  book  had  been 
done.  Many  experiments  and  investigations  had  been 
made,  but  that  nearest  my  heart  still  seemed  as  far 
from  inception  as  when  the  idea  first  entered  my  mind. 
So  it  appeared  better  to  wait  no  longer  on  the  uncertain- 
ties of  the  future,  and  this  new  edition  is  the  result. 

The  book  has  been  carefully  reconsidered  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  It  has  been  rewritten  wherever  rewrit- 
ing seemed  desirable,  and  much  new  matter  has  been 
added  and  old  matter  cut  out. 

The  labor  spent  in  its  preparation,  in  its  composition, 
and  in  its  journey  through  the  press,  was  from  first  to 
last  a  labor  of  love,  and  so  it  would  seem  to  have  been 
accepted.  The  uniform  consideration  and  many  valued 
attentions  shown  me  when  on  strange  waters,  and  in- 
deed elsewhere,  from  those  who  knew  me  only  as  its 
author,  have  been  a  source  of  gratification  difficult  to 
exaggerate.  Should  this  revised  edition  further  cement 
these  kindly  relations,  I  shall  be  more  than  content. 

Henry  P.  Wells. 
New  York,  April  1,  1901. 


FLY-RODS  AND  FLY-TACKLE. 


FLY-RODS  AND  FLY-TACKLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


FISH-HOOKS,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  WHICH  GOVERN  THEIR 
EFFICIENCY. 

The  hook  is  the  foundation  of  the  Angler's  Art:  it 
is  the  point  of  attack.  Weakness  or  inefficiency  here 
can  be  aided  little  by  the  art  of  him  who  handles  it,  and 
not  at  all  by  any  excellence  of  tackle  elsewhere.  The 
most  skilled  can  but  strike  at  the  proper  moment,  and 
with  the  proper  degree  of  force. 

What  senses  a  fish  has,  and  to  what  degree  they  are 
developed,  has  been  the  subject  of  frequent  discussion; 
and  while  there  may  be  and  still  is  some  doubt  among 
scientists  as  to  what  he  does  possess,  there  can  be  but 
one  opinion  among  anglers:  that  he  is,  at  least  at  times, 
altogether  destitute  of  the  sense  of  propriety.  With- 
out consultation  with  the  angler,  and  without  the  slight- 
est deference  to  his  wishes,  he  rises  to  the  fly  or  ignores 
it,  as  to  him  seems  best ;  and  when  he  does  come  he 
comes  in  his  own  way,  seizing  the  fly  with  resolution 
or  diffidence,  and  in  a  manner  over  which  the  angler 
has  no  control. 

Any  hook  which  will  hang  together  will  secure  the  fish 
at  times,  and  so  will  a  bean-pole  and  clothes-line;  but 
this  is  the  art  of  the  hippopotamus,  who  flounders  through 


10  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

jungle  and  morass  by  sheer  brute  force,  rather  than  that 
of  the  civilized  man,  who  sweeps  the  one  from  his  path 
and  bridges  the  other. 

A  lady  seeking  to  tickle  the  ear  of  a  celebrated  painter 
with  that  refinement  of  flattery  only  possible  to  women, 
asked  how  he  mixed  his  colors  to  produce  effects  so 
lovely  and  so  unusual.  Like  the  trout,  his  sense  of  pro- 
priety was,  at  least  temporarily,  dormant.  He  refused 
absolutely  to  rise  to  that  fly,  notwithstanding  the  skill 
and  delicacy  of  the  cast.  Gruffly  he  replied  that  he 
mixed  them  with  his  brains. 

So  the  angler  should  fish  with  his  brains,  promptly 
tracing  an  effect  to  its  cause,  taking  to  heart  every  hint 
so  obtained,  whether  it  tends  to  improvement  of  tackle, 
or  its  use.  Otherwise  he  is  nothing  but  a  pot-fisherman, 
whose  proper  fishing-ground  is  the  market,  and  whose 
only  tackle  should  be  hard  cash. 

The  Angler  considers  his  pursuit  as  a  fine  art,  of 
which  merely  to  obtain  fish  is  but  small  part  —  these 
he  can  get  more  cheaply  and  in  greater  abundance  in 
the  market.  It  is  the  way  the  thing  is  done — this  and 
the  open  air,  the  odor  of  the  woods  and  flowers,  the 
laughter  of  the  running  water,  the  beauty  and  song  of 
the  birds,  and  that  peace  and  content  which  open  the 
heart  of  man  to  see  and  love  the  ever-changing  beauties 
of  nature  —  these  give  to  that  pastime  a  charm  pos- 
sessed by  no  other.  Though  old  age  and  infirmity  come 
on,  and  the  foot  once  familiar  with  wood  and  stream  is 
now  confined  to  the  narrow  limits  of  a  chamber,  when 
every  other  earthly  pursuit  has  lost  its  zest,  who  ever 
heard  even  then  that  the  enthusiasm  of  the  angler  had 
diminished,  or  that  the  dim  eye  failed  to  kindle  at  the 
recollection  and  tale  of  earlier  triumphs  with  the  rod. 


Fish-hooks.  11 

Angler  ! — the  term  is  to  me  a  title  of  nobility,  an  order 
of  knighthood  open  to  personal  merit  alone.  Not  to 
every  one  who  casts  the  fly  is  it  given  to  belong  to  this 
brotherhood.  He  who  would  claim  admission  must  be 
gentle,  kindly,  courteous,  temperate,  unselfish  ;  a  lover 
of  nature,  a  pleasant  companion,  and  a  true  friend — and 
let  us  be  thankful  there  are  many  such. 

The  relation  of  all  this  to  fish-hooks  is  somewhat 
obscure,  so  perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  return  to  the 
point. 

Since  the  gratification  of  a  capture  is  measured  large- 
ly by  the  degree  of  skill  required  to  make  it,  it  is  desir- 
able to  eliminate  as  far  as  possible  all  chance  from 
affecting  the  result ;  so,  if  it  may  be,  that  when  the  fly 
is  touched,  no  matter  how  lightly  or  from  what  direc- 
tion, the  hook  will  fasten  if  manipulated  with  skill. 

Ignorance  of  the  mechanical  principles  which  should 
be  embodied  in  a  fish-hook,  and  which  govern  its  effi- 
ciency, is  altogether  too  common.  Many  examine  a  fly, 
and  if  it  please  in  color,  size,  and  neatness,  little  thought 
is  given  to  the  form  of  the  hook. 

The  hooks  ordinarily  sold  are  none  of  them  quite  per- 
fect, while  many  are  very  faulty  in  this  respect.  To 
formulate,  if  it  may  be,  some  simple  and  readily  applied 
rule,  guided  by  which  the  angler  can  justly  criticise  any 
form  of  hook  at  a  glance,  is  the  purpose  of  the  remainder 
of  this  chapter. 

If  it  is  desired  to  drive  a  nail  into  a  board  to  the 
greatest  depth  possible  with  a  single  blow  of  a  hammer, 
everybody  knows  the  blow  should  be  delivered  fair  and 
straight  upon  its  head,  and  by  no  means  obliquely.  And 
thus  with  a  fish-hook.  Though  the  power  is  first  applied 
as  a  sudden  pull,  yet  as  it  is  transmitted  through  the 


13  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

curved  form  of  the  hook,  eventually  its  direction  is 
changed,  and  it  becomes  strictly  a  blow,  which,  to  give 
the  maximum  of  penetration,  should  be  delivered  in  a 
direct  line  with  the  point. 

This  result  would  be  well  accomplished  by  any  form 
of  hook,  were  it  not  that  another  principle  intervenes ; 
for  the  moment  the  forward  movement  of  the  hook, 
due  to  the  pull  on  the  line,  is  arrested  by  an  obstruc- 
tion at  the  point,  the  point  tends  to  halt  while  the  re- 
mainder of  the  hook  still  advances.  Thus  a  cant  is 
instantly  given  to  the  hook,  the  direction  of  the  point 
is  thrown  out  of  line,  and  at  an  angle  with  the  move- 
ment— the  blow  becomes  oblique  instead  of  direct — and 
the  hook  tends  to  rake  its  way  out  of  the  fish's  mouth, 
rather  than  to  imbed  itself  therein.     (See  Fig.  2.) 

Try  the  experiment  yourself. 

Holding  a  hook  in  the  position  shown  in  Fig.  5 
(page  19),  except  that  the  shank  should  be  horizontal, 
insert  its  point  lightly  in  any  soft  substance  which  will, 
like  the  inside  of  the  mouth  of  a  fish,  permit  the  hook 
freely  to  assume  its  own  position — a  piece  of  blotting- 
paper  for  example.  Now  pull  on  the  gut  attached  to 
the  hook,  and  at  once  it  will  assume  the  position  claimed 
and  indicated.  This  change  of  position  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  main  principle  hereafter  announced.  Other 
considerations  there  are  which  affect  the  construction 
of  hooks,  but  they  are  of  very  secondary  importance. 

Mr.  H.  Cholmondely  Pennell,  in  his  "  Modern  Practi- 
cal Angler  "  (London,  1870),  has  treated  this  subject  with 
marked  ability.  We  feel  certain  that  such  of  our  read- 
ers as  have  not  seen  his  book,  will  not  think  it  amiss 
if  we  quote  him  somewhat  fully.  In  this  feeling  it  is 
hoped  he  will  join. 


Fish-hooks,  18 

He  discusses  the  question  as  follows  : 

"Extraordinary  as  it  may  seem  in  such  a  mechanical 
age  as  ours,  we  cannot  go  into  a  tackle  shop,  and  buy 
a  hook  in  which  one  or  more  glaring  defects,  or  of 
offences  against  the  first  principles  of  mechanics,  cannot 
be  pointed  out.  The  most  common  fault  of  all,  perhaps, 
lies  in  the  shape  of  the  bend.  I  have  shown,  when  allud- 
ing to  this  subject  in  the  Book  of  the  Pike,  how  great 
is  the  difference  in  the  penetrating  powers  of  different 
bends.  Between  the  two  extremes  it  amounts  to  no  less 
than  cent,  per  cent.  ;  and  yet  even  the  best  of  these  fall 
below  the  point  of  efficiency  which  ought  to  be  attain- 
able. Another  obvious  fault  is  overfineness  in  the  wire, 
from  which  it  results  that  when  the  point  comes  sharply 
in  contact  with  a  bone  or  other  hard  portion  of  a  fish's 
mouth,  or  even  on  the  sudden  jerk  occasioned  by  strik- 
ing softer  material,  it  *  springs ' — that  is,  yields  by  a  wid- 
ening of  the  bend  outward — and  so  fails  to  penetrate. 
On  the  form  of  the  shank  of  the  hook,  again  depends, 
to  a  considerable  extent  in  fly-fishing,  the  proper  and 
even  swim  of  the  lure ;  and  while  the  point  and  barb  are 
the  first  portions  of  the  hook  to  be  brought  into  requisi- 
tion in  practice,  it  would  seem  that  they  are  the  last  on 
which  any  theoretical  consideration  has  been  bestowed. 

"  The  theory  of  hooks,  as  based  simply  on  mechanical 
principles,  should  probably  run  somewhat  as  follows  : 

"  1.  What  are  the  objects  to  be  aimed  at  in  a  perfect 
hook?— 
"a.  Penetration. 
"  h.  Holding  power, 
"c.  Strength. 
"  d.  Lightness  and  neatness. 

"  2.  How  are  these  to  be  attained  and  combined  ? 


14 


Fly^ods  and  Fly-tacTcle. 


"  Penetration. —  Cmteris  paribus,  the  penetrating  power 
of  any  hook  will  be  greater  in  proportion,  as  the  angle 
of  impact — the  angle,  that  is,  at  which  the  point  of  the 
hook  strikes  the  fish's  mouth — coincides  with  the  direc- 
tion of  the  force  applied  (^.€.,  the  pull  of  the  line) ;  or  to 
illustrate  this  by  a  diagram  : 


Fig.l. 


Pig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


The  dotted  line  a  e  represents  the  direction  of  the  ap- 
plied force  ;  the  penetration  will  be  greater  as  the  direc- 
tion of  the  line  of  the  point  c  c?  is  coincident  with  that 
of  a  e.  In  Fig.  1  these  two  lines  actually  correspond,  and 
if  there  were  no  other  matters  to  be  taken  into  consider- 
ation, this  hook,  so  far  as  penetration  depending  on  bend 
is  concerned,  would  be  mechanically  perfect.  Fig.  2  rep- 
resents a  hook  in  which  the  converse  of  the  above  prin- 
ciple is  illustrated. 

"These  principles  hold  good  equally  in  the  case  of 
hooks  the  points  of  which  are  crooked  or  turned  side- 
ways, as  in  the  Kirbys  and  Snecks,  the  penetration  dimin- 


Fish-koohs.  15 

ishing  as  the  point  is  turned  from  the  direction  of  the 
applied  force,  and  accordingly  that  is  the  one  particular 
in  which  the  Limerick  is  superior  to  the  other  bends. 
The  Sproat  and  Round  bends  have  also  a  similar  advan- 
tage. In  all  these  hooks  the  angle  of  impact,  such  as  it 
is,  is  direct. 

"  The  above  arguments  are  based,  it  will  be  observed, 
on  the  assumption  that  in  all  other  respects,  except  the 
bend,  the  hooks  under  comparison  are  equal.  But  in 
fact  hooks  are  divided  into  two  broad  divisions,  the  one 
possessing  and  the  other  lacking  an  element  which  has 
an  obvious  bearing  on  the  penetrative  power.  I  refer 
to  the  shape  of  the  shank,  whether  straight  or  'hog- 
backed'  (curved).  The  substitution  of  a  necessarily- 
more  or  less  yielding  and  elastic  curve  for  a  perfectly 
straight  and  rigid  shank,  cannot  but  affect  adversely  the 
penetrating  powers.  As  regards  the  penetration  of  the 
point  itself,  it  is  clear  that,  other  circumstances  being 
equal,  the  smaller  the  hole  to  be  made  the  less  will  be 
the  force  required  to  make  it ;  and  also  that  a  long, 
straightly  tapered  point,  like  that  shown  in  Fig.  1,  will 
penetrate  more  easily  than  a  shorter  and  *  blunter,' 
or  hollowed  out,  point  of  the  form  represented  in  Fig.  3. 
This  latter  principle  is  merely,  in  fact,  a  converse  ap- 
plication of  the  mechanical  truism,  that  what  is  gained 
in  speed  is  lost  in  power.  If  two  barbs  are  of  the  same 
maximum  diameter,  and  one  is  twice  as  long  as  the 
other,  the  longer  barb  will,  for  practical  purposes,  pene- 
trate with  half  the  pressure  required  by  the  shorter. 

"Again,  with  regard  to  the  *  point  side'  of  the  barb 
(c  d  in  diagram),  it  is  obvious  that  in  order  to  insure  a 
firm  and  deep  penetration,  this  side  must  be  of  a  proper 
length.     The  want  of  length  in  this  part  of  the  hook  is 


16  Fly-Tods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

one  of  the  faults  of  the  *  Sproat  bend,'  which  is  exagger- 
ated for  sake  of  illustration  in  Fig.  3. 

^^  Holding  Power.  —  To  illustrate  this  I  shall  take  a 
case  which  is  both  the  most  common  in  practice,  and  will 
admit  of  a  theoretical  demonstration :  that  of  the  hook 
having  penetrated  quite  through  the  lip  of  the  fish,  so 
that  the  point  protrudes.  In  this  case  it  is  evident  that, 
when  once  hooked,  the  nearer  the  point  approaches  the 
shank  of  the  hook,  the  less  chance  must  the  fish  have  of 
escaping.  This  will  be  seen  by  carrying  the  principle 
to  the  extreme  limit — and  assuming  that  the  point  was 
so  bent  in  after  hooking  as  actually  to  touch  the  shank; 
the  fish's  lip  would  then  be  enclosed  in  a  complete  tri- 
angle, from  which,  of  course,  there  could  be  no  possible 
escape. 

"  Strength. — It  is  obvious  that  those  portions  of  the 
hook  which  are  nearly  or  quite  in  the  same  line  as  the 
penetrating  or  holding  force,  have  little  or  no  strain  to 
bear.  This  is  the  case  with  the  shank  and  with  the 
short  or  point  side  of  the  hook  shown  in  Fig.  1.  The 
strain,  therefore,  is  thrown  on  the  top  side,  and  more 
especially  on  the  angle  /,  and  it  is  precisely  in  this 
point  that  the  common  Sneck  bends  have  hitherto  failed 
in  practice.  So  marked  has  been  this  failure,  that  I 
have  known  three  salmon  to  be  lost  within  an  hour  with 
Sneck  hooks,  all  by  breakages  at  the  angle  in  question. 

"  Lightness  and  Neatness. — The  lightest  form  of  hook, 
other  points  being  equal,  must  evidently  be  that  in  which, 
while  retaining  the  requisite  thickness  of  metal  at  the 
portion  subject  to  strain,  the  parts  not  so  subject — ^that 
is,  the  shank  and  *  point  side ' — are  tapered  away  towards 
the  ends.  Hooks  so  tapered  are  also  neater  when  em- 
ployed for  flies,  and  more  convenient  for  general  use. 


Fish-hooks.  17 

"  The  patterns  of  hook  which  at  present  most  nearly 
fulfil  the  conditions  indicated  by  a  practical  application 
of  the  foregoing  theory  are  the  Sneck  and  Sproat  bend 
hooks;  the  former  is,  however,  marred  by  two  faults — the 
turning  to  one  side  of  the  point,  and  the  lack  of  strength 
above  described;  and  the  latter  by  the  want  of  depth 
and  power  in  the  point  side,  the  hollowed  out  or  blunted 
shape  of  the  barb,  and  the  curved  or  *  hog-backed '  form 
of  the  shank.  Appearance,  or  neatness,  is  of  course  a 
matter  of  taste,  but  whatever  other  claims  the  Sproat 
bend  has  upon  our  suffrages  they  can  hardly,  I  think,  be 
urged  on  the  score  of  beauty.  The  Limerick  hook  also 
has  the  disadvantage,  though  in  a  less  exaggerated  form 
than  the  *  Sproat,'  of  being  hog-backed,  which,  as  I  have 
shown,  prevents  the  fly  swimming  straight  and  even,  and 
gives  it  an  inclination  to  turn  in  the  water,  like  a  min- 
iature spinning-bait.  The  Round  and  Kirby  bends  are 
very  deficient  in  penetrating  power,  and  disproportion- 
ately short  in  the  shank  as  compared  to  their  breadth  of 
bend,  either  for  appearance  or  use,  more  particularly  in 
the  matter  of  flies. 

"  In  the  pattern  of  hook  which  is  now  being  manu- 
factured by  Messrs.  Hutchinson,  of  Kendal,  under  my 
name,  I  have  endeavored  to  hit  the  medium  between 
theoretical  and  practical  requirements,  and  to  combine 
as  nearly  as  possible  the  advantages  of  the  various  bends 
referred  to,  and  especially  of  the  Sproat  and  Sneck  bends, 
while  avoiding  what  I  believe  to  be  their  faults* 

"  Diagrams  both  of  this  hook  and  of  the  other  hooks 
described  are  appended,  and  by  applying  to  them  the 
principles  advocated,  my  readers  will  be  able  to  form 
their  own  conclusions  as  to  how  far  the  pattern  I  rec- 
ommend fulfils  the  ideal  sketched  out." 

2 


18 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 


(Four  illustrations  of  forms  familiar  to  American  an- 
glers have  been  added  to  those  in  Mr.  Pennell's  book. 


Round.  Kirby.  Limerick.  Sneck.  Pennell. 


Sproat. 


The  more  acute  the  angle  a  [Fig.  4],  the  more  certainly 
the  hook  will  fasten  according  to  Mr.  Pennell's  theory.) 
In  the  following  illustration  A  represents  a  hook  in 
the  position  it  will  assume  in  response  to  the  pull  of  the 


Fish-hooks.  19 

line,  as  shown  by  our  former  experiment ;  B  C  will  then 
represent  the  "  draft-line."  That  side  of  the  barb  marked 
a  I  have  termed  the  "inner"  or  "advancing  side;"  that 
marked  d  is  intended  when  the  "  outer  "  or  "  following  " 
side  is  mentioned. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  form  of  this  diagram  and  the  no- 
menclature of  its  parts  will  be  well  fixed  in  the  mind, 
since  then  what  follows  will  be  easily  understood. 


Fig.  6. 


It  will  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Pennell  has  determined 
the  penetrating  angle  from  the  mUer  line'  of  the  barb. 
I  cannot  but  think  this  an  oversight  on  his  part,  and  one 
which  affects  his  results.  It  is  not  the  ^'following  "  (d) 
but  the  ^^  advancing'*^  side  (a)  of  such  a  cutting  edge  or 
penetrating  point  which  determines  its  promptness  to  en- 
gage, as  well  as  the  direction  which  it  will  follow. 

I  say  mch  a  penetrating  point,  for  if  the  "  following  " 
side  (d)  of  the  point  or  edge  is  in  actual  contact  with  the 
surface  to  be  penetrated  (as  shown  in  Mr.  Pennell's  first 
figure,  page  14),  it  guides  the  edge  in  its  own  direction, 
since  that  is  the  line  of  least  resistance.  It  is  clear  that 
this  is  not  the  case  with  a  fish-hook,  since  there  the  "  fol- 
lowing edge  (cT)  is  raised  above,  and  is  not  in  contact 
with  the  surface  to  be  penetrated. 

But  an  illustration  familiar  to  all  will  serve  to  make 
this  clearer  than  pages  of  theory. 

Take  the  common  carpenter's  chisel,  and  apply  it  to  a 


20  Fly^ods  and  FVy-tackle. 

board,  with  the  bevel  down  and  in  contact  with  the 
board.  The  bevel  here  guides  the  edge,  and  forces  it  to 
advance  parallel  with  the  surface  upon  which  the  bevel 
rests ;  there  is  not  the  slightest  tendency  to  bury.  It 
would  seem  to  follow  from  this  that  the  hook  shown 
in  the  first  of  Mr.  PennelPs  figures  is  by  no  means 
theoretically  perfect  as  to  penetration  (or  promptness 
"to  bite,"  which  is  the  idea  I  understand  Mr.  Pennell 
intends  to  convey),  but  on  the  contrary  it  is  both  theo- 
retically and  practically  imperfect  in  this  respect. 

Now  let  us  reverse  the  chisel  and  apply  it  to  the  board 
with  the  bevelled  side  uppermost,  and  at  such  an  angle 
that  the  flat  side  (which  will  then  become  what  we  have 
termed  the  "  following  "  side)  does  not  touch  the  board. 
Here  we  have  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  penetrating 
point  of  a  fish-hook,  one  governed  by  exactly  the  same 
laws.  Attempt  to  cut  with  the  chisel  held  in  this  posi- 
tion !  It  buries  at  once  in  the  board  and  comes  to  a  halt. 
The  "  advancing  "  edge,  the  bevel,  guides  and  forces  it 
downward. 

In  considering  the  penetration  of  a  fish-hook,  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  problem  is  not  to  pierce  an 
obstacle  squarely  across  the  path  of  the  hook ;  but  its 
point  is  to  engage  with  an  oblique  surface,  and  when  so 
engaged  it  should  turn  at  once  from  its  former  path  and 
bury  downward. 

If  the  foregoing  is  true,  then  it  again  follows  that  the 
"  outer  line  "  of  the  barb  should  not  point  to  the  shank 
of  the  hook,  since  then  the  "following"  side  of  the 
penetrating  edge  is  in  contact  with  the  surface  to  be 
penetrated,  and  must  guide  the  point  in  its  own  line ; 
and  thus  any  tendency  to  deviate  therefrom — in  other 
words,  to  bury — is  checked. 


Fish-hooks.  21 

It  is  hoped  it  will  now  be  conceded  that  the  " inner y'^ 
and  not  the  "  outer,"  profile  of  the  barb  determines  the 
direction  in  which  the  hook  will  respond  to  a  pull  upon 
the  line.  It  also  results  from  these  considerations  that 
the  greater  the  angle  which  the  "  inner "  profile  of  the 
barb  makes  with  the  "draft-line,"  the  deeper  the  hook 
will  bury,  if  it  penetrates  at  all. 

If  it  penetrates  at  aU,  and  here,  practically,  is  the  pith 
of  the  whole  matter.  For  if  the  hook  does  not  penetrate 
at  all,  the  thought  of  what  might  have  happened  had 
this  been  otherwise  will  afford  but  cold  comfort  to  him 
who  uses  it. 

Now  if  we  place  any  hook  bought  at  random  in  the 
market,  in  the  position  shown  in  the  following  figure,  it 
is  at  once  apparent  that  the  "advancing"  side  of  the 
barb  a  makes  a  suflicient  angle  with  the  "  draft-line,"  to 
insure  that  if  the  barb  enters  at  all  it  must  bury.  So 
we  may  dismiss  this  requirement  from  our  minds  as 
being  sufficiently  satisfied  in  any  hook  which  has  a  barb. 

We  may  then  turn  our  undivided  attention  to  the  prob- 
lem how  to  secure  this  all-important  first  engagement. 
This  appears  to  admit  of  solution  by  an  easy  method, 
one  having,  it  would  seem,  the  merit  that  it  permits  of 
practical  application  at  a  glance,  and  under  almost  any 
circumstances. 

Let  A  (Fig.  6)  be  a  hook  placed  in  the  position  shown 
upon  any  flat  surface,  B  C  (the  glass  of  the  dealer's 


Fig.6. 


22 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 


show-case,  for  example).  B  C  (the  level  of  the  glass) 
will  then  represent  the  "  draft-line "  of  the  hook ;  and 
as  the  line  a  of  the  inner  side  of  the  barb  approaches 
this  line,  short  of  actual  coincidence,  so  will  the  sureness 
of  the  hook  increase,  since  then  it  will  penetrate  easily, 
yet  bury  sufficiently. 

The  demonstration  of  this  principle,  and  the  statement 
of  how  it  may  be  used  to  discriminate  between  hooks  of 
all  forms,  may  be  made  in  one  breath.  Let  Fig.  1  rep- 
resent the  barbs  of  two  hooks  so  placed;  the  line  B  C 
is  the  flat  surface,  and  a  a  the  line  of  the  inner  side 
of  the  barb,  as  before.  Now  let  us  construct  the  par- 
allelogram b  c  d  e^  of  which  the  line  a  of  the  inner  side 
of  the  barb  is  the  diagonal. 


■G 


Pig.  7. 

This  is  the  well-known  "  parallelogram  of  forces  "  of 
the  books,  and  its  well-settled  principles  teach  us  at  a 
glance  that  the  side  6  c  of  the  parallelogram  (or  that 
parallel  to  the  flat  surface  B  C)  represents  correctly  the 
penetrating  power  of  the  hook ;  while  the  side  c  e  (that 
perpendicular  to  the  flat  surface)  will  show  the  relative 
tendency  of  the  hook  to  rake  its  way  out  of  the  fish's 
mouth.  Of  course  the  intending  purchaser,  when  he 
places  any  hook  upon  the  glass  show-case  of  the  dealer 
in  the  position  shown,  can  at  once  construct  this  paral- 


Fish-hoohs.  23 

lelogram  in  his  mind,  and  at  once  determine  sufficiently 
for  all  practical  purposes  the  relative  length  of  the  side 
parallel  with  the  flat  surface  to  that  perpendicular  to  it. 
To  sum  up  :  any  hook  in  which  the  side  parallel  to  the 
flat  surface  is  not  longer  than  that  perpendicular  to  it, 
is  of  vicious  construction  and  should  be  rejected. 

It  was  my  purpose  to  prepare  a  table  from  actual 
trial,  giving  the  number  of  pounds  and  ounces  which 
each  variety  of  hook  shown  in  Fig.  4  required  to  bury 
it  to  the  barb  by  a  direct  pull  on  its  shank.  But  delay 
in  gathering  together  all  the  varieties,  and  of  uniform 
size  so  as  to  admit  of  fair  comparison,  together  with 
further  reflection  on  the  subject,  have  convinced  me  that 
such  a  table  would  not  be  worth  the  space  it  would  oc- 
cupy. Each  can  determine  the  matter  for  himself,  as 
far  as  it  can  be  of  any  practical  importance,  by  the  ap- 
plication of  the  preceding  simple  rule. 

Any  of  the  forms  of  hook  shown  will  take  fish  at 
times,  nor  will  the  general  average  of  the  catch  of  one 
so  greatly  exceed  that  of  the  other — provided  always  the 
fish  are  rising  boldly.  But  if  they  are  timid  and  take 
the  fly  gingerly,  or  if  they  are  rising  but  seldom  and 
the  prospect  of  sport  is  poor,  then,  when  the  discour- 
aged angler  is  apt  to  allow  his  attention  to  be  distracted 
from  his  flies  and  be  backward  in  responding  to  an  offer, 
heed  of  this  point  will  make  a  marked  difference  in  re- 
sult. And  this  brings  me  to  the  point  which  was  the 
prime  impelling  cause  of  this  inordinately  long  preamble. 

It  is  not  my  purpose,  and  I  beg  in  no  part  of  this 
book  to  be  understood  to  play  the  Sir  Oracle  —  for 
that  is  at  the  same  time  to  play  the  fool.  I  recognize 
the  wide  divergence  of  opinion  as  to  many  points  en- 
tertained by  my  confessed  superiors  in  the  art  of  fly- 


34  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

fishing  and  its  appliances.  Somebody  must  be  wrong, 
and  it  would  be  absurd  for  me  to  intimate  or  suppose 
that  I  alone  was  exempt  from  mistake.  Therefore,  when 
an  opinion  is  stated  its  foundation  is  also  given,  trusting 
to  that  tribunal,  the  great  fraternity  of  anglers  —  from 
whose  judgment  in  these  matters  there  is  no  appeal — 
to  sustain  me  when  in  the  right,  and  to  consign  me  to 
merited  oblivion  when  in  the  wrong.  This  course  I 
have  followed,  and  shall  continue  as  far  as  permitted  by 
the  consideration  that  man  is  not  immortal,  and  that  the 
sole  occupation  of  this  life  is  not  to  read  books  on  an- 
gling. 

But  to  come  back  to  the  point. 

I  would  warn  my  brother  anglers,  novice  and  expert 
alike,  against  those  small  hooks  (so  tempting  when  em- 
bodied in  a  small  fly,  because  the  hook  is  so  well  con- 
cealed) in  which  the  distance  across  the  bend,  from  the 
barb  to  the  shank,  is  but  little  exceeded  by  the  length 
of  the  shank  itself. 

Apply  one  of  these  hooks  to  a  flat  surface,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  6,  on  page  21.  At  once  it  is  apparent  that  the 
angle  of  penetration  may  be  made  to  depend  altogether 
on  the  length  of  the  shank  {b  c  in  that  figure) ;  and  that 
if  the  shank  of  the  hook  there  shown  terminated  at  f  (it 
would  then  show  about  the  proportions  of  the  hooks  re- 
ferred to),  the  forward  edge  of  the  barb  a  would  be  near- 
ly perpendicular,  and  its  tendency  to  penetrate,  or  in 
other  words  to  take  hold,  very  slight.  If  we  add  to  this 
the  fact  that  these  hooks  are  made  of  very  thin  wire,  and 
consequently  must  spring  some,  thus  enlarging  the  dis- 
tance across  the  curve  still  more,  we  obtain  a  result  even 
more  vicious  than  that  shown  at  the  left  hand  of  Fig.  7. 

No  form  of  bend,  be  it  never  so  excellent,  can  remedy 


Fish-hooks.  25 

this  fatal  error  of  construction.  Such  hooks  reverse  the 
proprieties,  for  they  are  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  not  to 
the  fish,  but  to  the  fisherman;  and  this  assertion  is  made 
with  the  more  emphasis  since,  at  the  first  glance,  they  so 
seem  to  present  the  efiiciency  of  a  large  hook  with  the 
unobtrusiveness  of  a  smaller  one,  that  they  are  calcu- 
lated to  deceive  even  the  elect. 

Prior  to  the  issue  of  the  first  edition  of  this  book  the 
writer  had  usually  employed  the  Sproat-bend  hook  in 
his  own  fishing,  and  then  believed  this  form  of  hook, 
when  made  with  sufficient  barb,  to  be,  not  only  the  best 
obtainable,  but  as  nearly  a  perfect  compromise  between 
the  various  conflicting  desiderata  in  a  fish-hook  as  was 
practically  possible. 

Further  thought  and  experience  has  as  yet  suggested 
no  modification  of  this  view.  If  that  form  of  hook  could 
but  be  had  with  its  leader  end  terminating  in  a  turned- 
down  loop-eye — which  seems  at  present  not  to  be  the 
case,  at  least  in  this  country — the  writer  would  use  no 
other;  and  it  is  believed  that  those  who  think  the  appli- 
ances of  their  fathers  are  still  good  enough  for  them, 
and  who  prefer  flies  of  which  a  gut  strand  or  loop  is  an 
integral  part  of  their  structure,  cannot  do  better  than  to 
have  them  tied  on  a  good  Sproat  hook.  Some  of  these 
hooks  are  made  with  a  very  small  barb,  on  the  theory 
that  the  wound  made  by  the  hook  is  smaller,  and  that 
therefore  the  probability  of  disengagement  is  lessened, 
while  ease  of  penetration  is  increased.  The  latter  is  un- 
doubtedly true,  but  the  former  would  seem  to  be  an 
error  sufficiently  grave  to  more  than  over-balance  the 
conceded  advantage.  For  the  integument  into  which 
the  hook  is  intended  to  be  driven  is  not  brittle  like  glass, 
but  elastic  like  rubber ;  and  the  barb  of  the  hook  does 


26  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tdckle. 

not  cut  its  way  before  it  as  does  a  knife,  but  separates  the 
tissue  and  distends  the  opening  so  made;  and  this  closes 
again  close  around  the  hook  the  moment  the  passage  of 
the  barb  will  permit.  Who  ever  saw  a  trout  of  any  size 
taken  from  the  water  in  which  the  wound  of  the  hook 
had  not  been  enlarged  by  its  struggles?  The  impor- 
tance, then,  of  a  fairly  prominent  barb  is  apparent,  and 
its  just  proportions  will  be  a  compromise,  determined  by 
a  due  and  combined  consideration  both  of  holding  power 
and  ease  of  penetration. 

By  the  preceding  simple  method  the  angler  can  de- 
termine the  efficiency  of  any  form  of  hook  at  once.  One 
other  word  of  caution  and  I  have  done.  Beware  of 
short  angular  bends  in  the  curvature  of  a  hook,  particu- 
larly on  the  shank  side,  of  which  some  of  the  "  Sneck " 
bends  will  serve  as  an  example.  For  a  moment's  consid- 
eration will  show  that  such  a  hook  must  be  far  better  in 
material  and  temper  than  a  hook  in  which  the  curves 
are  softened  off,  before  it  will  bear  an  equal  strain. 

That  the  side  rake  of  the  "Sneck"  is  an  evil  when 
used  in  fly-fishing,  is  not  by  any  means  beyond  ques- 
tion. A  fish-hook  is  a  creature  of  compromise — an  arti- 
cle formed  by  the  union  of  several  discordant  elements, 
each  opposed  to  the  other.  What  concession  each  shall 
make  is  a  matter  for  sound  judgment.  A  hook  theoreti- 
cally perfect  in  all  respects  cannot  be,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case. 

The  side  rake  undoubtedly  somewhat  augments  the 
power  required  to  bury  the  hook  over  the  barb,  but  I 
am  by  no  means  certain  that  this  loss  is  not  more  than 
made  good  by  an  increased  certainty  in  that  most  essen- 
tial quality  of  all— promptness  of  initial  engagement  in 
all  positions.     It  will   be,  generally  conceded  that  the 


Fish-hooks.  27 

demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  angler  which  answers 
a  rise,  leaves  a  wide  margin  of  power  to  meet  this  de- 
mand many  times  multiplied. 

Theoretically  this  shifting  the  barb  end  to  one  side 
should  prevent  the  fly  from  swimming  on  an  even  keel, 
but  I  apprehend  this  evil  may  well  be  classed  with  the 
"  hog-back  "  of  the  Sproat  and  O'Shaugnessy,  as  of  the- 
oretical rather  than  practical  importance.  The  form  of 
barb  given  to  this  hook  is  generally  superior  to  the 
Sproat,  and  if  its  point  occupied  the  same  relative  po- 
sition in  reference  to  the  "  draft-line,"  I  should  prefer 
it ;  but  always,  be  it  understood,  with  the  angle  which 
unites  the  bend  to  the  shank  somewhat  softened  off,  as 
indeed  it  now  is  in  some,  but  not  all,  makes  of  this 
hook.  Omitting  the  "  side  rake,"  we  should  then  have 
Mr.  Pennell's  form. 

The  O'Shaugnessy  is  also  an  excellent  hook.  While 
the  general  form  of  the  barb  is  such  as  to  afford  easy 
penetration,  its  extreme  point  is  given  a  slight  bend  out- 
ward to  insure  prompt  initial  engagement.  Many  ex- 
cellent American  anglers  consider  this  the  best  of  all 
hooks. 

The  Barbless  speaks  for  itself.  It  is  quite  prompt  to 
engage,  requires  less  force  than  any  other  to  imbed  it, 
and,  as  to  holding  power,  is  so  dead  sure  that  to  my 
mind  it  is  almost  unsportsmanlike  to  use  it. 

Again,  for  the  benefit  of  the  novice  we  emphasize  the 
caution  that  he  cannot  be  too  particular  as  to  this  part 
of  his  outfit.  Remember  it  is  always  the  best  fish  which 
are  lost,  and  absolutely  eschew  cheap  hooks. 

During  August,  1884,  and  since  the  foregoing  was 
written,  a  friend  presented  me  with  a  couple  of  dozen 
"  Pennell "  hooks  adapted  to  the  large  flies  used  on  the 


28  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

trouting  waters  of  North-western  Maine.  On  these  I 
tied  a  number  of  flies,  and  gave  them  during  the  ensu- 
ing six  weeks,  with  others  tied  upon  Sneck-bend  hooks 
of  like  size,  a  careful  trial  in  that  region. 

The  trout  of  that  locality  may,  for  our  purpose,  be 
divided  into  three  classes — the  small,  including  those  up 
to  one  and  a  half  pounds  ;  the  medium,  including  those 
up  to  three  pounds;  and  the  large,  embracing  those  above 
that  weight.  The  small  and  the  medium  fish  may  read- 
ily be  taken  with  two  or  more  flies  handled  in  the  usu- 
al manner — that  is,  with  the  drop  flies  just  skimming  the 
surface  of  the  water ;  but  the  habitual  caution  of  the 
large  fish  seems  best  to  be  overcome  by  quite  a  differ- 
ent method  of  temptation.  A  single  large  fly  moving 
very  slowly  about  six  inches  under  water  appears  most 
to  their  taste.  The  larger  the  trout  the  more  slowly 
he  approaches  and  takes  in  the  fly,  but  the  more  prompt- 
ly he  realizes  and  rejects  the  deception  if  time  is  al- 
lowed him  so  to  do.  The  eye  alone  directs  when  to 
strike.  To  strike,  and  at  the  proper  moment,  is  neces- 
sary, while  the  duration  of  that  moment  might  well 
serve  as  a  type  of  brevity.  Again  the  offer  comes 
when  least  expected,  like  a  thief  in  the  night.  Then 
the  utmost  promptness  of  action  is  requisite,  together 
with  no  little  vigor,  to  transmit  the  impulse  to  the  hook 
through  the  half-sunken  line.  The  highest  attainable 
excellence  in  every  portion  of  his  outfit,  and  unremit- 
ting vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  angler,  alone  will  pre- 
vent the  most  bitter  disappointment,  as  he  gazes,  with 
feelings  beggaring  description,  on  the  subsiding  swirl 
of  the  mighty  fish,  which,  though  he  combats  the  feel- 
ing with  all  the  excuses  his  ingenuity  can  devise, 
his  inner    consciousness    tells  him   should   have   been 


Fish-hooks.  29 

his  own.  I  speak  from  the  heart,  for  "I  have  been 
there." 

Fly-fishing  for  large  trout  had  been  below  par  during 
the  fall  of  1883.  On  September  29th  I  was  informed 
that  some  had  been  seen  that  morning  rolling  in  the 
pool  below  the  lumber-dam.  A  hasty  dinner  finished, 
and  I  was  at  the  pool.  Up  rolled  a  trout  two  feet  long 
before  I  could  prepare  to  cast.  To  my  brothers  of  the 
angle  who  have  never  seen  a  trout  of  over  three  pounds 
rise  to  the  surface,  I  would  say  they  have  something 
yet  to  live  for.  I  can  liken  it  to  nothing  better  than 
the  swirl  made  by  the  propeller  of  a  steamer  when  it 
first  starts  from  inaction  into  motion.  It  is  a  sight  to 
quicken  the  circulation  of  an  iceberg.  Till  dark  I  cast, 
employing  every  resource  of  the  art  known  to  me. 
Every  four  or  five  minutes  one  would  break  the  surface, 
and  nearly  give  me  a  fit  with  the  eagerness  with  which 
I  would  hasten  to  lay  my  fly  in  front  of  him,  before  he 
could  vanish  from  my  sight  and  its  neighborhood.  It 
was  all  in  vain.  Night  fell,  and  no  fish  of  over  one  and 
a  half  pounds  had  rewarded  my  efforts.  So,  disappointed 
and  disgusted,  but  not  discouraged,  I  vowed  vengeance 
on  the  morrow,  and  betook  myself  to  camp,  studying  the 
problem,  and  how  its  conditions  could  be  varied  that  the 
next  day  might  have  a  happier  issue.  I  decided  on  a 
new  combination  of  form  and  color  in  the  fly,  and  no 
hook  in  my  own  stock  being  quite  suitable,  I  begged 
one  from  a  brother  angler.  I  did  not  like  its  bend,  but 
still  there  was  a  better  chance  with  any  hook,  if  they 
could  be  induced  to  take  it,  than  with  the  best  if  it  were 
ignored. 

Bright  and  early  the  next  morning  my  guide  and  I 
landed  from  our  boat  upon  the  boom  above  the  dam,  and 


80  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

started  to  walk  it  on  our  way  to  the  pool  below.  Show 
covered  the  slippery  logs,  by  no  means  improving  the 
footing  ;  so,  gingerly  and  with  the  utmost  caution,  I  es- 
sayed the  perilous  passage.  I  don't  know  how  it  hap- 
pened, one  moment  I  was  on  the  boom,  the  next  I  was 
up  to  my  ears  in  the  icy  flood,  and  scrambling  for  the 
bank  without  unnecessary  delay.  But  I  clung  to  my 
rod,  and,  with  everything  but  my  ardor  chilled  to  the 
bone,  betook  myself  to  the  pool.  There,  standing  beside 
the  fire  that  the  ready  axe  of  my  guide  quickly  made, 
I  began  the  last  day's  fishing  of  the  year.  A  bitter 
wind  drew  down  the  valley,  and  my  hands,  covered  by 
a  pair  of  fingerless  gloves  now  sopping  wet,  ached  in 
a  manner  that  soon  became  intolerable.  I  had  cast  for 
about  five  minutes  in  vain  when  I  essayed  to  remove 
them,  my  fly  lying  on  the  water  and  sinking  below  the 
surface.  Something  told  me  to  strike,  I  know  not  what, 
for  I  saw  nothing;  but  strike  I  did,  with  a  vigor  accent- 
ed by  my  personal  discomfort,  and  proportioned  to  the 
sunken  line  to  be  moved.  Had  I  struck  the  dam  itself 
the  resistance  could  not  have  been  more  stubborn  and 
unyielding.  But,  alas  !  I  held  him  but  for  the  moment. 
I  cast  till  noon,  then  to  camp,  changed  to  dry  clothes, 
dined,  and  back,  and  hammered  away  at  that  pool  till 
dark,  and  never  got  a  rise  from  a  fish  of  over  two  pounds. 
I  believed  then,  and  I  still  believe,  that  with  a  prop- 
erly constructed  hook,  barring  accidents  of  a  different 
kind,  he  would  have  been  mine.  But  I  knew  the  hook 
was  one  calculated  to  rake  its  way  out  of  a  fish's  mouth 
rather  than  to  bury  and  hold.  I  took  the  risk  and  I  paid 
the  penalty.  Those  who  have  been  in  a  like  position, 
and  after  a  day  and  a  half's  unremitting  and  unrewarded 
labor,  with  a  ducking  in  ice- water,  ruin  of  fly-book,  etc., 


Fish-hooks,  31 

thrown  in,  alone  know  with  what  feelings  I  returned  to 
camp.     It  was  the  last  day  of  that  open  season,  too. 

I  have  seen  an  angler  of  wide  experience,  though 
new  to  large  trout,  white  to  the  lips  as  he  told  how  a 
few  moments  before  he  had  lost  a  large  fish  after  ten 
minutes'  play  —  a  trout,  which  his  experienced  guide 
assured  me  he  had  seen  plainly,  and  to  which  he  as- 
signed a  weight  of  not  less  than  six  pounds. 

I  see  I  have  diverged  from  what  I  intended  to  say, 
and  interpolated  a  narrative  which  may  seem  to  some 
out  of  place.  But  if  it  will  serve  to  impress  upon  the 
beginner  how  greatly  the  pang  which  follows  the  loss  of 
a  large  fish,  exceeds  the  trouble  and  expense  of  provid- 
ing first-class  tackle  at  the  outset,  its  practical  utility 
will,  it  is  hoped,  justify  the  digression.  With  every 
appliance  of  the  best,  such  losses  will  still  occasionally 
occur  even  to  the  most  skilful,  but  this  will  then  happen 
but  seldom,  nor  is  the  disappointment  imbittered  by 
self-reproach.  Good-luck  comes  to  all  at  times,  and  he 
is  the  most  successful,  in  angling  as  in  life,  who  pre- 
pares beforehand  to  take  full  advantage  of  his  opportu- 
nities. 

From  1884  to  1886  or  1887  I  tied  all  the  flies  I  used 
on  the  Pennell  hook  of  the  form  shown  on  page  18. 
Not  that  my  first  love,  the  Sproat,  lost  favor  in  my 
sight,  but  because  I  had  trouble  in  obtaining  it  deep 
enough  on  the  barb  side  to  meet  my  idea,  because  I 
liked  the  straight  shank  on  which  to  build  up  the  fly, 
and  because  it  proved  an  excellent  hook. 

Then  Mr.  Pennell  brought  out  his  turn-down  eyed 
hook  figured  on  the  following  page,  known  in  the  trade 
as  the  "loop -eyed"  hook.  Those  unfamiliar  with 
this  form  of  hook  should   note  how  its  shank-end  is 


32  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taMe. 

doubled  back  against  the  shank  itself  after  the  loop-eye 
is  formed. 

This  hook  I  have  used  ever  since — not  so  much  on 
account  of  its  conformation, 
though  excellent,  as  because  of 
its  turn-down  eye.  The  addition 
of  this  form  of  eye  to  hooks 
adapted  to  fly-making  is,  in  my 
judgment,  the  greatest  improve- 
ment in  fish-hooks  within  my 
recollection.  Rather  than  forego 
the  many  advantages  this  eye 
affords,  I  should  prefer  almost 
any  form  of  hook  that  had  it  to 
the  best  that  had  it  not. 

Let  us  consider  the  matter  for 
a  moment. 
Such  a  fly  is  to  be  attached  to  the  free  end  of  the 
leader  by  passing  that  end  through  the  eye  and  tying  it 
around  the  shank  of  the  hook  close  to  the  eye.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  leader  will  then  pull  as  though  it  were 
a  direct  continuation  of  the  shank  of  the  hook.  The 
fly  will,  in  consequence,  draw  perfectly  straight  through 
the  water,  and  the  impulse  to  fasten  the  hook  will  be 
applied  in  the  most  eflicient  and  advantageous  manner. 
Then  notice  the  nice  flat  surface  it  affords  upon  which 
to  tie  the  wing,  and  how  much  more  securely  it  may  be 
permanently  fastened  in  place  than  when  tied  upon  the 
cylindrical  shank  of  the  old-style  hook.  Rough  hand- 
ling, even  combined  with  poor  workmanship,  will  hardly 
twist  out  of  place  a  wing  so  seated. 

Again,  we  are  inconvenienced  by  no  gut-strand  or  loop 
while  tying  the  fly  ;  nor,  thereafter,  by  care  lest  the  gut 


Fish-hooks.  33 

should  be  accidentally  cracked  while  dry  or  become 
impaired  by  age.  Until  destroyed  by  moth  or  by  the 
fish  it  has  taken,  when  it  has  paid  for  its  cost  and  keep 
and  is  entitled  to  a  place  on  the  retired  list,  every  fly  in 
one's  outfit  is  practically  immortal. 

Then  how  much  more  compactly  one's  stock  of  flies 
may  be  kept,  how  much  more  convenient  to  arrange,  to 
select  from,  to  play  with  as  every  angler  loves  to  do  in 
the  close  season. 

Who  that  has  used  flies  with  an  integral  gut  strand 
has  not  lost  the  one  virtue  with  which  even  the  scoffer 
credits  the  angler — patience — when  he  has  sought  to 
take  one  fly  from  his  hook  and  has  pulled  out  perhaps 
half  a  dozen ;  or,  at  a  critical  moment,  has  not  found 
the  gut  of  the  desired  fly  dry  and  crooked,  and  been 
compelled  to  lose  time  and  fancied  opportunity  while 
he  straightened  it? 

True,  some  of  these  inconveniences  are  obviated  when 
a  gut  loop  is  substituted  for  the  gut  strand.  But  then 
the  integrity  of  the  gut  loop  becomes  open  to  suspicion 
before  long  ;  while  every  time  such  a  fly  has  been  used, 
and  is  removed  from  the  cast  to  give  place  to  another, 
the  loop  must  be  carefully  reformed  to  its  original 
shape  and  position  while  still  wet  and  soft,  or  it  will  dry 
with  a  twist  and  the  fly  will  not  swim  true  when  next 
used. 

I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  the  eyed  form  of 
fly-hook,  now  so  long  on  the  market,  is  not  in  almost 
universal,  instead  of  exceptional,  use  in  this  country.  I 
am  informed  on  the  very  best  authority  that  almost 
every  skilled  fly-fisherman  in  England  employs  noth- 
ing else,  whether  it  be  for  the  very  smallest  midge  or 
the  largest  salmon-fly.      We,  as  a  people,  are  gener- 

8 


34  Fly-rods  and  Fl/y4acTde: 

ally  credited  with  recognizing  a  good  thing  when  we 
see  it. 

The  reason  usually  assigned  is  that  it  is  too  hard  to 
knot  the  leader  to  the  eye — an  exemplification,  perhaps, 
of  the  rule  that  the  unknown  is  the  portentous.  It  cer- 
tainly takes  no  more  time  than  to  join  the  loop  on  the 
end  of  a  leader  to  that  on  the  fly-gut,  while  the  fly  is 
saved  the  rough-and-tumble  experience  of  being  dragged 
through  the  loop — ^a  very  rough-and-tumble  experience 
in  some  hands.  Think,  too,  how  clean  and  fair  the 
leader  runs  to  the  tail-fly,  with  nothing  to  attract  atten- 
tion except  the  indispensable  and  inconspicuous  knots 
which  unite  the  strands,  as  imperceptible  as  possible. 
No  two  loops,  meshed  together  a  few  inches  above  the 
fly,  imprison  a  glittering  film  of  air  shining  almost  like 
a  mirror. 

But  let  us  assume,  contrary  to  the  fact,  that  the  knot 
is  quite  beyond  the  capability  of  the  average  angler. 
Even  then,  why  is  not  the  eyed  hook  entitled  to  prefer- 
ence ?  The  fly  can  be  tied  without  the  gut  to  the  con- 
venience of  the  fly-maker,  and  a  looped  gut  strand  be 
knotted  to  the  eye  by  him  at  any  time  before  delivery 
to  the  consumer,  who  then  has  just  what  he  has  been 
accustomed  to  use.  When  he  begins  to  mistrust  the 
gut  strand  for  any  reason,  instead  of  buying  a  new 
stock  of  flies,  he  simply  sends  his  suspects  to  the  maker 
to  replace  the  old  gut  with  new.  Ignoring  the  obvious 
resulting  economy,  this  course  would  go  far  to  remove 
the  cause  of  much  perturbation  of  the  angling  mind  over 
the  disposition  of  accumulations  of  old  materials  which 
it  dares  not  use,  yet  which  seem  too  good  to  destroy. 

But,  in  point  of  fact,  the  knot  is  really  of  the  easiest 
to  learn  and  practise — far  easier  than  to  tie  a  shoe. 


Fish-hooks.  35 

Since  it  is  almost  identical  with  the  knot  described  in 
the  chapters  on  leaders,  for  fastening  the  line  to  the 
leader,  it  seems  better  for  reader  and  writer  "  to  make 
but  one  bite  of  the  cherry,"  and  to  do  it  there. 

Heretofore  we  have  spoken  of  the  eyed  hook  as 
though  used  but  in  the  tail-fly.  It  is,  however,  obvious 
that  if  the  leader  be  provided  with  projecting  strands 
of  gut  at  the  proper  intervals,  eyed  flies  may  be  as  read- 
ily tied  to  the  free  ends  of  these  strands  as  to  the  end 
of  the  leader,  and  that  the  eyed  hooks  are  equally  avail- 
able for  drop-flies. 

It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that  the  preceding 
remarks  apply  only  to  eyed  hooks  in  which  the  eye  is 
bent  at  an  angle  with  the  shank  of  the  hook,  either  up 
or  down — down  is  the  better — so  that  the  gut  will  draw 
on  a  true  line  with  the  shank  of  the  hook.  Those 
hooks,  familiar  to  the  bait-fisher  from  time  immemorial, 
in  which  the  shank  terminates  in  a  ring  in  the  plane  of 
the  shank,  are  not  available  for  fly-fishing,  since,  among 
other  reasons,  the  gut  will  not  draw  in  true  line  with 
the  shank  and  the  fly  will  not  swim  straight. 

When  one  speaks  to  another  it  is  generally  more  sat- 
isfactory if  the  hearer  knows  what  the  speaker  is  talk- 
ing about.  Therefore,  since  different  manufacturers  do 
not  always  use  the  same  number  to  indicate  the  same 
size  of  hook,  the  author  desires  that  the  size  shown  as 
corresponding  with  the  number  given  in  the  following 
scale  be  understood  whenever  a  hook  is  mentioned  by 
number  in  this  book. 

Though  the  hooks  are  figured  on  the  following  page 
of  actual  size,  it  may  be  remarked  that  in  the  cut  they 
appear  somewhat  larger  to  the  eye. 


86 


Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 


A  word  to  those  who  tie  their  own  flies.  Of  late 
years  the  best  makers  of  hooks  not  infrequently  rely 
upon  a  bronze  lacquer  instead  of  the  old  black  japan  to 
protect  them  from  rust.  I  doubt  whether  any  of  these 
bronze  lacquers  are  as  perfect  a  protective  as  the  old 
japan.  But,  however  that  may  be,  it  is  quite  certain 
that  many  of  them  are  simply  a  delusion  in  this  respect. 


The  contemplation  of  a  nice  stock  of  flies,  the  product 
of  one's  own  scanty  leisure,  some  of  them  ruined  with 
iron-rust  stain  after  but  a  single  use,  and  the  certainty 
that  the  others  are  doomed  to  the  same  fate,  is  enough 
to  drive  any  one  but  a  philosopher  to  drink. 

All  bronzed  hooks  should  be  tested  by  fastening  three 
or  four  from  the  lot  to  a  board  with  a  staple  made  from 
a  pin  bent  in  the  shape  of  the  letter  U,  and  exposing 


Fish-hooks,  87 

them  to  the  weather  night  and  day  for  four  or  five  days. 
The  hooks  should  lie  flat  on  the  board  so  that  the  at- 
mospheric moisture  may  be  the  longer  retained  in  con- 
tact with  the  lacquer,  as  will  be  the  case  where  the 
hook  touches  the  board.  If,  at  the  end  of  that  time 
in  ordinary,  mixed  wet  and  dry  weather,  no  or  very 
slight  signs  of  rust  appear,  the  hooks  may  be  used  with- 
out fear. 

If,  however,  signs  of  rust  do  appear,  then  the  follow- 
ing is  a  remedy.  Get  from  an  apothecary  some  alco- 
holic tincture  of  Tolu-gum.  Put  the  hooks  in  a  saucer 
and  pour  a  very  little  of  the  tincture  upon  them.  Then 
stir  them  up  briskly  for  a  minute  or  two  with  a  hair- 
pin, so  that  any  excess  of  tincture  on  one  hook,  or  part 
of  a  hook,  will  rub  off  onto  the  others,  and  a  uniform 
coating  be  given  to  all.  I  say  a  very  little  tincture  is 
to  be  used,  and  a  very  little  is  meant.  Half  a  tea- 
spoonful  is  quite  enough  for  a  hundred  No.  4  hooks, 
whereas  for  the  same  number  of  8, 10,  or  12  hooks,  half 
as  much  or  less  will  sufiice.  Then  take  out  the  hooks 
one  by  one  with  a  pair  of  tweezers,  or,  better,  a  bent  pin 
if  you  have  the  patience,  and  hang  them  on  a  stretched 
wire  till  the  tincture  is  not  only  dry  but  hard — say 
twenty -four  hours  in  good  drying  weather.  When 
dry,  examine  each  hook  to  see  whether  the  eye  or 
barb  is  clogged,  and  clean  out  such  as  require  it  with  a 
pin. 

The  bronzed  hook  came  upon  the  market  in  notice- 
able quantity  a  little  after  the  eyed  fly-hook.  The  eyes 
were  then  all  made  very  small,  even  on  large  hooks,  as 
shown  in  the  following  cut.  The  "loop-eyed"  hook, 
figured  on  page  32,  in  which  the  wire  is  lapped  back 
against  the  shank  of  the  hook  after  forming  the  eye, 


88 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackU. 


was  a  later,  and,  in  my  judgment,  a  decided  improve- 
ment. It  may  be  had  in  all  sizes  larger  than  and  in- 
cluding No.  8.  I  have  not  seen  or  heard  of  it  in  smaller 
sizes,  perhaps  because  it  has  been  found  to  make  the 
small  hooks  too  clumsy. 

The  change  from  the  black  japan  to  the  bronze  was 
apparently  a  consequence  of  the  addition  of  the  eye, 
which  the  black  japan  was  apt  to  clog  in  its  application. 
Since  the  eye  was  only  applied  to  hooks  of  the  first 
quality,  and    since    these    were    usually   bronzed,  the 


n 


n» 


bronzing  came  to  be  considered  by  consumers  an  indi- 
cation of  quality.  Competition  is  so  keen  nowadays 
that  to  cater  to  every  general  whim  of  the  consumer 
class  is  a  condition  of  pecuniary  success  in  manufactur- 
ing. So  bronzing  began  to  be  substituted  for  japanning 
in  hooks  of  the  ordinary  form — by  no  means  an  im- 
provement in  my  judgment.  Still,  until  four  or  five 
years  ago,  bronzing  was  really  strong  presumptive  evi- 
dence of  good  quality  in  a  fish-hook.  But  in  the  natural 


Fish-hooks.  80 

course  of  human  events  this  could  not  last,  since  makers 
of  cheap  goods  are  just  as  anxious  to  sell  them  as  the 
makers  of  the  best ;  and  now  bronzed  hooks  of  all 
grades  of  excellence  are  on  the  market. 

Some  fancy  that  the  bronzed  hook  is  less  visible  to  the 
fish,  and,  therefore,  better  than  the  black-japanned  hook. 
Experiment  leads  me  to  think  this  a  mistake.  I  have  ex- 
amined the  two  side  by  side  through  strata  of  water  from 
one  to  five  feet  in  thickness,  lighted  from  above  as  in 
nature,  viewing  the  hooks  from  below  at  various  angles, 
and  could  see  no  material  difference  in  this  respect. 

To  test  this,  two  hooks  were  chosen,  one  bronzed  and 
the  other  black  japanned,  of  the  same  size.  Large 
sizes — No.  4 — were  taken,  since  the  existing  difference, 
if  any,  would  be  the  more  apparent.  As  the  question 
was  under  consideration  with  relation  to  fly-fishing, 
each  hook  bore  a  fly  of  the  same  size  and  composition, 
of  the  variety  known  to  salmon  fishermen  as  the  "  Black 
Fairy  " — tail  golden  pheasant  topping,  yellow  tag,  black 
mohair  body  ribbed  with  oval  silver,  black  hackle,  and 
brown  mallard  wing  in  which  one-half  of  the  wing  is 
tied  on  one  side  and  the  other  half  on  the  other  side  of 
the  hook,  so  that  the  wing  closely  covers  the  upper  half 
of  the  body  like  a  peaked-roof  shed  quite  convex  on  the 
ridge-pole  line. 

How  often  do  actual  experiment  and  the  unexpected 
go  hand  in  hand  together !  Even  though  the  unex- 
pected be  not  found,  still,  to  borrow  the  language  of  the 
old  nursery  rhyme,  more  often  than  not  "the  subject 
suggestively  turns  to  matters  not  thought  of  before." 
So  it  was  in  this  case.  That  the  difference  in  the  visi- 
bility of  the  two  hooks  was  so  slight  as  to  be  immate- 
rial, was  expected  and  readily  determined. 


40  FVy-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

But  the  appearance  of  the  flies  themselves  was  a  sur* 
prise  of  the  first  magnitude.  I  had  often  wondered,  in 
the  half-conscious  way  to  which  the  angler  is  prone 
when  rod  in  hand,  why  this  fly  was  such  a  killer.  I  be- 
lieve I  found  out  then.  Held  in  the  hand,  it  is  really 
quaker-like  in  the  sobriety  of  its  color  scheme.  Any- 
thing more  quiet  and  unobtrusive  would  be  difficult  to 
design.  But  in  the  water  it  was  "a  horse  of  another 
color."  As  to  general  appearance,  it  was  then  decidedly 
impressionistic,  as,  indeed,  if  I  may  rely  on  the  hundreds 
of  experiments  I  have  tried,  is  the  case  with  all  artificial 
flies,  except  when  viewed  at  very  short  range  and  with 
a  strong  sunlight  from  directly  behind  the  observer. 
No  definite  outline  or  detail  of  construction  was  notice- 
able. Something  in  motion  was  there,  but  just  what 
it  was  I  think  would  puzzle  any  one  to  say,  not  already 
informed,  when  viewed  through  three  or  four  feet  of 
water. 

At  the  initial  glance  at  any  object,  or  number  of  ob- 
jects, our  attention  involuntarily  first  fixes  itself  on  the 
most  conspicuous  feature ;  for  example,  the  highest 
light  of  a  picture,  the  most  striking  colored  dress  if  the 
object  viewed  be  a  throng  of  people.  Until  we  have 
mentally  disposed  of  this  feature,  all  others  produce  an 
impression  so  indefinite  as  hardly  to  be  worthy  the  name. 
Half  the  stock  in  trade  of  the  ordinary  sleight-of-hand 
performer  is  this  involuntary  action  of  the  human  mind. 
He  suddenly  throws  his  wand  with  violence  upon  the 
floor.  Though  nine-tenths  of  those  present  may  really 
know  just  why  it  is  done,  the  attention  of  all,  influenced 
by  sight  and  sound,  is  involuntarily  diverted  to  the  point 
where  the  wand  strikes,  and  the  performer  in  the  in- 
stant does  the  crucial  part  of  his  trick  unobserved. 


Fish-hooks.  41 

From  the  nature  of  the  case  it  appears  so  extremely 
probable  that  with  all  created  things  which  rely  upon 
eyesight  to  guide  their  conduct  the  eye  must  act  in  sub- 
stantially the  same  way,  that  it  would  seem  far  more 
rational  to  accept  it  as  a  fact  than  to  question  it  in  the 
absence  of  cogent  proof  to  the  contrary. 

Few  artificial  flies  even  approximately  duplicate  any 
living  insect.  In  most  of  them,  when  on  or  in  the  water 
and  viewed  from  beneath  its  surface,  the  wing,  or  the 
hackle,  or  some  other  part  is  more  conspicuous  than  the 
rest  of  the  fly.  The  fly  enters  the  range  of  vision  of  the 
fish  without  previous  warning,  as  a  surprise.  Time  for 
critical  inspection  and  analysis  of  detail  is  not  allowed. 
The  more  conspicuous  portion  arrests  their  attention, 
the  less  conspicuous  parts  are  overlooked.  They  get  at 
first  but  a  general  impression,  which  they  confound  with 
the  nearest  similar  familiar  impression,  and  on  this  they 
act.  The  discrepancies,  which  close  approach  might 
make  sufficiently  obvious,  are  overlooked  in  the  ardor  of 
pursuit.  And  so,  if  the  first  impression  excites  the  ap- 
petite, and  nothing  gives  rise  to  suspicion  or  alarm,  the 
fly  is  taken. 

This,  it  seems  to  me,  or  something  very  like  this,  must 
be  why  it  is  possible  to  lure  trout  with  the  artificial  fly. 
It  may  be  a  mere  theory,  or  call  it  a  mere  hypothesis 
not  rising  to  the  dignity  of  a  theory  in  certitude,  still  it 
has  this  in  common  with  many  generally  accepted  theo- 
ries, that  it  is  consistent  with  and  explains  the  observed 
facts. 

Returning,  now,  to  the  Black-Fairy  fly.  Through 
three  or  four  feet  of  ordinary  clear  water,  lighted  from 
above  by  strong  daylight  but  not  direct  sunshine,  the 
body,  while  it  could  be  seen,  was  very  inconspicuous. 


42  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle, 

The  whole  fly  was  very  indefinite  in  outline.  The  con- 
spicuous feature  and  the  surprise  was  the  appearance  of 
the  brown  mallard  wing.  This  feature,  so  sedate  and 
sombre  in  the  air,  had  a  softly  luminous  silvery  lustre 
of  the  most  seductive  character  when  under  water.  So 
wholly  unexpected  was  this  appearance  that  it  was  at 
first  attributed  to  reflection  from  air  immeshed  among 
the  fibres  of  the  feather.  It  seemed  altogether  too  good 
to  be  true.  So,  holding  the  flies  under  water,  the  water 
was  rubbed  into  the  wings  until  they  were  completely 
saturated,  and  all  air  that  might  originally  have  been 
there  was  necessarily  expelled.  No  change  in  appear- 
ance resulted,  the  wing  still  glowing  as  before  with 
much  the  effect  of  polished  silver  seen  through  fine 
ground-glass.  The  shape  of  the  wing,  closely  embrac- 
ing the  upper  half  of  the  body  and  extending  beyond  it 
towards  the  end  of  the  tail,  had  the  form  of  the  upper 
half  of  a  fish,  and  I  felt  sure  that  were  I  a  fish  I  should 
have  taken  the  fly  for  the  sweetest  and  tenderest  of 
minnows. 

These  experiments  required  an  assistant,  the  observer 
standing  below,  while  the  assistant  manipulated  the  flies 
from  an  upper  story  quite  out  of  sight  and  hearing.  My 
assistant  on  this  occasion  was  an  angler  of  great  skill 
and  experience,  very  prompt  to  perceive  the  relation 
between  cause  and  effect.  I  told  him  nothing  of  what 
I  had  seen,  nor  why  I  rejoined  him  after  my  first  obser- 
vation and  wetted  the  wings  of  the  flies  with  such  care. 
When  I  had  finished,  I  asked  him  to  go  down  and 
look  at  the  flies  while  I  manipulated  them,  and  tell  me 
what  he  saw,  giving  no  intimation  of  what  I  had  seen. 
He  returned  to  me  quite  as  surprised  and  delighted  as  I 
was. 


Fish-hooks,  43 

His  observations  and  his  deductions  therefrom  du- 
plicated mine ;  and  we  agreed  that  the  brown  mallard 
feather — that  brown  mottled  feather  which  grows  near 
the  butt  of  the  wing  on  each  side  of  the  drake  mallard, 
grayish  at  the  root,  shading  into  dark  brown  at  the 
end — was  one  of  the  most  valuable  to  the  fly-fisher- 
man ;  that  it  should  be  tied  so  that  the  wing  was  not 
upstanding  in  the  usual  manner,  but  so  as  closely  to 
embrace  and  extend  beyond  the  upper  half  of  the  body 
of  the  fly,  as  has  been  described ;  and  that  either  in 
still  water,  or  on  a  deep  pool  in  a  trout  brook  where  the 
larger  fish  would  naturally  abide,  it  must  prove  most 
seductive. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  that  this  wing  cannot  be 
made  from  a  single  feather.  One  strip  must  be  taken 
from  a  feather  from  the  right  side,  and  another  strip 
be  taken  from  a  feather  from  the  left  side  of  the  mal- 
lard ;  and  the  two  strips  must  be  so  laid  together  that 
the  inner,  the  less-colored,  faces  of  the  strips  are  in  con- 
tact. The  matched  pair  will  then  show  a  curve  like  a 
scimitar,  and  the  concave  edge  is  to  go  next  the  body 
of  the  fly.  It  should  be  tied  on  large  hooks ;  for  the 
large  fish  of  Maine  and  Canada,  on  Nos.  2  and  4  ;  for 
those  localities  where  small  flies  are  habitually  used, 
on  Nos.  8  and  10. 


44  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTde. 


CHAPTER  11. 

HOW  FISH-HOOKS  ARE  MADE. 

The  belief  that  an  account  of  how  fish-hooks  are  made 
will  interest  some  of  my  readers,  has  induced  me  after 
some  hesitation  to  include  the  following  description. 

Though  special  machines  are  now  largely  used,  still 
the  old  hand  process  is  at  the  foundation  of  all.  A 
statement  of  this,  therefore,  will  be  at  once  more  profit- 
able and  easily  understood. 

Round  steel  wire  in  coil  is  mounted  on  a  reel;  the 
outer  end  is  thrust  through  a  hole  until  it  encounters  a 
stop,  and  can  go  no  farther  ;  then  down  comes  a  cutter, 
and  cuts  off  a  length.  As  long  as  the  cutter  and  stop 
work  at  a  fixed  distance  from  each  other,  so  long,  of 
course,  will  the  wire  be  cut  in  uniform  lengths  (see  Fig. 
8).  It  will  also  be  clear  that  by  varying  the  position  of 
the  stop  in  reference  to  the  cutter,  the  length  of  the  pro- 
duced piece  can  be  varied. 

During  the  time  occupied  in  reading  the  preceding 
paragraph,  you  may  imagine  several  lengths  have  been 
cut. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  formation  of  the  barb.  A 
length  of  wire,  cut  as  aforesaid,  is  laid  upon  a  small 
block  of  iron  provided  with  a  stop,  against  which  the 
end  of  the  wire  abuts.  The  workman  is  armed  with  a 
tool  such  as  is  shown  in  the  illustration  (Fig.  9),  in  which 
a  represents  a  wooden  handle ;  b  an  iron  rod  or  shank ; 


Hmo  Fish-hooks  a/re  Made, 


45 


and  c  the  cutter.  If  about  two  inches  were  broken  from 
the  cutting  end  of  an  ordinary  carpenter's  chisel,  and  if 
the  sides  were  then  ground  so  that  the  broken  end  was 


d 

V 


I    \ 


I 


Fig.  8. 


Pig.  9.  Pig.  10.  Fig.  11.  Pig.  12. 


somewhat  narrower  than  the  cutting  edge,  the  form  of 
this  barb-cutter  would  be  produced.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  cutting  edge  of  a  carpenter's  chisel  is 
bevelled  only  on  one  side.  Such  is  the  case  with  the 
cutter  under  consideration,  and  its  edge  is  applied  with 
the  bevel  uppermost  —  e.g.,  away  from  the  wire.  The 
form  of  this  cutter  is  shown  in  Fig.  10.  The  workman 
having  laid  a  length  of  wire  upon  the  iron  bed  with  his 
left  hand,  and  brought  its  end  against  the  abutment, 
seizes  the  tool  (Fig.  9)  by  its  handle  a  in  his  right  hand, 
hooks  the  other  end  d  behind  a  pin  conveniently  placed 


46  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

for  the  purpose,  which  serves  him  as  a  fulcrum,  applies 
the  edge  of  the  cutter  to  the  wire  at  a  marked  distance 
from  the  abutment,  and  pushes  the  handle  and  cutter 
from  him.  The  cutting  edge,  being  formed  with  only 
one  bevel  and  that  uppermost,  tends  to  bury  in  the  wire, 
while  the  shape  of  the  bevel  throws  up  the  shaving 
and  determines  the  "  rankness  "  of  the  barb.  Operation 
succeeds  operation  with  surprising  rapidity.  The  result 
is  shown  in  Fig.  11. 

This  is  the  method  employed  in  making  large  hooks. 
In  producing  the  barb  of  small  ones  such  as  we  use,  a 
knife  resembling  a  common  table-knife  is  employed,  bev- 
elled and  applied,  however,  in  much  the  same  manner. 

The  wire  is  now  annealed — that  is,  heated  to  low  red- 
ness, and  allowed  to  cool  very  slowly,  thus  rendering  it 
quite  soft.  The  annealed  pieces  are  then  laid  one  by 
one  on  a  small  anvil,  and  under  a  single  blow  of  a  ham- 
mer each  rapidly  assumes  the  form  shown  in  Fig.  12. 
They  are  then  one  by  one  placed  upon  a  cutting  edge, 
and  a  blow  from  a  drop-hammer  raised  by  foot-power 
produces  the  result  shown  in  Fig.  13 — a  representing  a 
cut  either  quite  or  almost  through  the  metal,  detaching 
the  piece  h.  Then  two  or  three  strokes  of  a  hand-file 
complete  the  point,  as  shown  in  Fig.  14.  The  hook  is 
now  to  receive  the  bend.  In  Fig.  \h  A  represents  a 
block  of  hard  wood  ;  ^  a  rib  of  metal  projecting  above 
the  surface  of  the  wood ;  (7  is  a  pin  projecting  in  a  like 
manner;  D  is  the  wire  about  to  be  bent  into  a  hook. 
When  the  wire  is  applied  as  shown  at  D  in  Fig.  15,  it 
is  bent  around  the  former  (B)  by  a  single  sweep  of  the 
hand,  and  the  hook  is  complete  in  form.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  contour  of  the  former  (B)  determines 
the  shape  of  the  hook. 


Hmo  Fish-hooks  are  Made. 


47 


% 


\ 


I 


Pig.  18. 


Fig.  14. 


Fig.  16. 


Now  the  hook,  which  to  this  point  is  as  soft  as  it  can 
well  be  made,  must  be  hardened.  Heavy  sheet -iron 
dishes  are  filled  with  soft  hooks,  thrust  into  an  oven,  and 
brought  to  a  cherry-red  heat ;  and  when  the  contents 
are  at  that  temperature,  they  are  "  dumped  "  into  a  large 
vessel  of  oil.  The  hooks,  when  withdrawn  from  the  oil, 
are  as  hard  and  brittle  as  glass,  and  they  must,  before 
they  will  be  fit  for  use,  be  drawn  to  a  spring  temper. 
An  iron  frying-pan  is  partially  filled  with  sand,  placed 
over  a  hole  in  an  oven,  the  sand  heated  to  a  proper  tem- 
perature, the  hooks  introduced  and  stirred  round  in  it, 
until  the  requisite  temper  is  reached.  The  hooks  are 
then  removed  and  cooled  off,  and  this  step  is  complete. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  how  intimate  is  the  connection  be- 
tween the  frying-pan  and  the  hook,  throughout  its  career. 


48  Fly-roda  and  Fly-tackle, 

These  last  two  steps  are  the  crises  in  the  life  of  the 
hook  which  determine  its  future.  For  if  in  the  hardening 
process  any  are  heated  to  excess,  the  steel  is  "  burned  " 
as  it  is  termed,  and  such  will  always  remain  brittle  and 
worthless ;  while  if  any  are  insufficiently  heated,  they 
will  not  harden,  but  continue  soft  and  equally  useless. 
To  heat  this  irregular  and  tangled  mass  of  hooks  uni- 
formly through  to  its  centre,  from  heat  applied  to  the 
outside,  requires  no  little  skill.  And  in  the  tempering 
process  the  same  difficulty  is  encountered,  for  if  it  is 
arrested  too  soon,  the  hooks  remain  still  brittle ;  if  it  is 
carried  too  far,  their  elasticity  is  gone,  and  they  will 
straighten  under  the  struggles  of  the  fish  to  escape. 

The  tempered  hooks  are  then  rolled  in  a  revolving 
barrel,  "  tumbled  "  as  it  is  termed,  to  remove,  by  the  at- 
trition of  one  against  the  other,  the  surface  scale  formed 
during  the  hardening  process,  and  they  are  then  ready 
to  lacker. 

This  is  accomplished  by  seizing  the  hooks  by  the  bend, 
dipping  the  shank  about  half  its  length  in  the  lacker, 
withdrawing  them  and  throwing  them  into  a  large  bowl. 
With  two  forks,  one  held  in  each  hand,  the  contents  of 
the  bowl  is  well  stirred  together,  until  at  length  the  im- 
mersed parts  have  parted  with  a  portion  of  their  lacker 
to  the  uncovered  parts,  and  the  whole  of  each  hook  is 
covered  with  a  uniform  coating.  The  workman  then 
wets  his  fingers  with  the  lacker,  removes  the  hooks  one 
by  one,  hangs  them  by  the  bend  on  iron  racks,  and  places 
them  in  an  oven  to  dry.  Such  is  the  process  of  making 
fish-hooks,  in  its  simplest  and  usual  form.  Is  it  not  won- 
derful they  can  be  sold  so  cheaply  ? 

One  step  remains,  or  should  remain,  to  be  taken  ;  and 
it  is  the  only  part  of  this  long  description  that  will,  aside 


How  Fish-hooks  are  Made. 


49 


from  the  gratification  of  a  very  laudable  curiosity,  be  of 
any  advantage  to  you  who  have  so  patiently  followed  it 
to  its  end.  But  if  you  tie  your  own  flies,  or  even  if  you 
do  not,  this  will  requite  you  for  your  labor  and  patience. 
I  allude  to  a  test  to  be  applied  to  each  hook,  so  that  the 
bad  may  be  infallibly  separated  from  the  good. 

Two  pins,  a  a,  are  inserted  in  a  block,  B  (see  Fig.  16). 
The  hook  is  placed  between  them  as  shown,  and  the 
shank  end  bent  outward  with  the 
hand  (see  dotted  line)  until  it 
strikes  a  pin,  J,  placed  near  the 
position  shown.  If  the  hook  breaks, 
of  course  that  ends  it.  If  it  fails  to 
return  to  its  original  form  when  re- 
leased, it  is  too  soft  to  be  reliable, 
and  should  at  once  be  rejected. 

Were  it  not  for  the  iron  bands  of 
literary  custom,  I  would  print  at  the 
head  of  each  page  of  this  book,  in- 
stead of  its  title,  the  words — eemkm- 

BER  TO  TEST  YOUR  TACKLE.       They 

embody  the  angler's  Golden  Rule. 
A  few  years  since  I  went  fishing  down  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, a  hundred  miles  by  rail  and  some  twenty  odd  by 
stage.  The  trout  of  that  State  have  quite  kept  up  with 
the  progress  of  the  age,  and  the  angler  who  expects 
much  pleasure  at  their  expense,  will  need  to  employ  all 
the  resources  of  his  art.  A  box  of  beautiful  little  hooks 
was  purchased  for  the  occasion,  and  a  quantity  of  beguil- 
ing flies  tied  thereon.  What  was  the  matter  I  could  not 
tell.  Rise  after  rise  was  followed  by  miss  after  miss  at 
the  strike,  till  a  bump  of  conceit,  which  at  first  was  quite 
protuberant,  gradually  fell  to  the  dead  level  of  medioc- 


Fig.  16. 


50  Fly -rods  and  Fly  tackle. 

rity,  till  at  last  its  former  locality  was  marked  by  a  de- 
pression  you  could  put  your  fist  into.  Nothing  but  fin- 
gerlings  (to  basket  which,  under  any  circumstances,  is  of 
course  against  the  first  canon  of  your  and  my  angling 
belief)  had  rewarded  my  efforts,  so  I  sat  me  down  to 
seek  consolation  in  a  quiet  pipe,  and  study  the  situation. 
Those  hooks  were  like  lead  in  softness. 

I  learned  my  lesson  then.  Learn  yours  now !  You 
will  find  it  far  cheaper  and  more  satisfactory.  For 
whether  is  it  better  to  prove  each  part  of  your  outfit  at 
home,  when  the  loss  of  a  worthless  article  readily  re- 
placed is  the  worst  that  can  result ;  or  to  involve  the 
good  in  a  common  fate  with  the  bad,  and  lose  all,  your 
temper  included,  in  a  common  ruin. 

It  is  a  good  rule  to  try  no  experiments  in  the  crisis  of 
battle. 


Lines.  fjn 


CHAPTER  in. 

LINES. 

Formerly  lines  for  fly-fishing  were  made  of  hair,  and 
were  twisted.  These  were  superseded  by  a  mixture  of 
hair  and  silk,  the  latter  added  to  increase  the  strength, 
and  tone  down  the  excessive  roughness  which  charac- 
terized the  line  made  of  hair  alone.  Again  the  twisted 
line  was  found  liable  to  kink,  and  braiding  the  strands 
was  substituted  for  twisting,  to  overcome  this.  But  at 
the  present  day  the  only  line  used  in  this  country  for 
this  purpose,  is  one  braided  from  silk  alone. 

Both  "  raw  "  and  "  boiled  "  silk  are  used,  the  raw  silk 
being  the  silk  as  spun  by  the  worm,  and  with  the  gum, 
exuded  in  that  process  to  unite  the  filaments  into  the 
form  of  a  cocoon,  still  adhering  to  it;  and  boiled  silk 
being,  as  its  name  implies,  the  former  boiled  to  dissolve 
and  eliminate  this  gum. 

Italian,  Chinese,  and  Japanese  silk  are  all  used  for 
line  making.  Italian  silk,  when  raw,  comes  in  hanks 
resembling  in  form  and  size  the  common  woollen  yarn 
of  country  stores.  It  is  of  a  most  beautiful  golden 
color,  resembling  in  the  sunlight  the  hair  of  the  giddi- 
est of  blondes.  It  feels  somewhat  harsh  to  the  touch — 
very  much  like  linen  thread — and  lines  made  from  it  par- 
take of  this  characteristic.  Chinese  silk  differs  from  the 
Italian  in  appearance  in  the  hank,  being  white  in  color, 
a  little  coarser  and  harsher  to  the  feel,  and  somewhat 


62  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

stronger.  That  generally  known  as  "grass  line"  is  an 
example,  it  being  wholly  of  Chinese  raw  silk,  no  grass 
whatever  entering  into  its  composition. 

The  Japanese  silk  is  considerably  weaker,  and  in  com- 
parison with  the  others  has  little  to  recommend  it  ex- 
cept cheapness. 

When  boiled  the  raw  silk  parts  with  its  gum,  losing 
about  thirty  per  cent,  in  weight,  and  deepening  in  color. 
The  surface  is  no  longer  harsh,  but  of  a  smooth  and  slip- 
pery character,  and  the  silk  becomes  very  flexible. 

Italian  silk  is  worth,  raw,  about  five  dollars  a  pound  ; 
boiled,  from  about  seven  and  a  half  to  eight  dollars. 
Chinese  silk  is  worth,  raw,  about  four  dollars  ;  boiled, 
about  six  and  a  half  to  seven  dollars  a  pound.  Japan- 
ese silk  costs,  raw,  about  three  dollars  and  ninety  cents; 
boiled,  about  four  dollars  and  eighty  cents  a  pound. 

Some  silk  comes  to  this  country  from  India,  the  prod- 
uct of  wild  worms  not  mulberry  fed.  It  resembles 
the  inside  of  an  old  Manila  rope  in  color,  is  worth  about 
two  dollars  a  pound,  raw,  and  is  much  weaker  than  the 
other  silks  already  mentioned. 

Since  the  gum  is  removed  by  the  boiling  process,  thus 
reducing  the  size  of  the  fibre  without  impairing  its 
tenacity,  it  follows  that  more  material  is  required  for 
the  same  diameter,  and  that  the  boiled-silk  line  possesses 
a  far  greater  degree  of  strength  than  a  like  size  line  of 
raw  silk.  Silk  lines  are  also  made  from  what  might  be 
termed  "shoddy,"  a  material  formed  by  reducing  old 
scraps  of  silk — cast-off  silk  dresses,  stockings,  umbrella 
covers,  and  such  trash — to  a  fluff  by  machines  constructed 
for  that  purpose,  and  spinning  the  thread  composing  the 
line  from  that.  As  the  length  of  the  fibre  in  the  latter 
does  not  exceed  a  fraction  of  one  inch  at  the  outside, 


Lines.  (B 

while  in  the  silk  direct  from  the  cocoon  it  may  be  hun- 
dreds of  yards,  the  relative  value  of  the  two  products 
may  be  readily  gauged,  without  entering  into  the  ques- 
tion of  how  much  the  material  composing  the  "shoddy" 
has  suffered  before  entering  the  machine. 

Again,  lines  are  sometimes  made  of  mixed  silk  and 
jute,  in  which  case  the  latter  is  a  pure  adulteration,  since 
it  adds  practically  nothing  to  the  strength.  Such  lines, 
however,  as  are  sold  by  reputable  dealers  are  made 
wholly  from  the  best  Italian  or  Chinese  silk.  The 
thread  is  spun  direct  from  the  cocoon.  Three  threads 
are  then  loosely  twisted  together,  and  thus  each  strand 
of  the  braided  line  is  formed.  These  lines,  for  their 
diameter,  are  of  surprising  strength,  and  they  alone  are 
suited  to  our  purpose.  But  in  their  natural  condition 
unnecessary  disadvantages  attend  their  use.  Though 
superior  to  the  ordinary  linen  line  in  this  respect,  still  if 
it  is  desired  that  they  should  retain  their  strength,  they 
must  be  taken  from  the  reel  and  carefully  dried  after  use. 

Aside  from  this,  the  inferior  strength  of  the  raw-silk 
line,  and  the  greater  friction  caused  by  its  rougher  sur- 
face in  its  passage  through  the  rings,  would  give  the 
preference  to  that  of  boiled  silk.  But  that  also  has  seri- 
ous disadvantages.  One  trial,  particularly  if  the  experi- 
menter be  wading,  will  graduate  him  as  far  as  this  is 
concerned.  They  are  so  very  soft  and  pliable,  that  on  the 
slightest  provocation  they  take  a  turn  around  the  outer 
end  of  the  tip ;  the  line  is  then  locked  for  the  time  be- 
ing, and  will  render  neither  way.  After  having  waded 
to  the  shore  four  or  five  times  to  find  a  support  for  the 
butt,  so  that  the  end  of  the  tip  and  the  entanglement 
may  be  reached,  an  effort  will  probably  be  made  to  vary 
the  monotony  of  this  proceeding,  by  placing  the  butt 


54  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

on  some  neighboring  stone  protruding  above  the  water. 
And  if  this  is  followed,  as  it  is  apt  to  be,  by  the  butt 
and  reel  slipping  off  into  the  water  at  the  very  crisis  of 
the  disentanglement,  to  the  great  peril  if  not  disaster  to 
your  tip,  you  will  then  have  opportunity  to  exercise  a 
wise  discrimination  as  to  which  of  the  two  annoyances 
you  will  elect  to  suffer  in  the  future.  If  to  this  is  added 
the  probability  that  you  first  discover  the  mischance 
after  a  cautious  approach  to  some  extra  promising  pool, 
and  when  you  wish  to  lengthen  your  line,  so  as  to  lay 
your  flies  just  where  you  feel  sure  the  aldermen  of  the 
brook  are  assembled  together ;  or  worse  still,  after  you 
have  fastened  to  one  of  those  aldermen,  or  possibly  the 
chairman  of  the  board,  and  find  that  you  can  neither 
give  nor  take  line,  you  will  then  agree  with  me  that 
such  a  line  is  more  demoralizing  to  the  angler  than  the 
fish. 

There  is  also  another  important  point  to  be  consid- 
ered, not  generally  known  by  anglers.  The  same  boiled- 
silk  not-waterproofed  line,  when  wet,  is  not  nearly  as 
strong  as  when  dry.  Experiments  conducted  at  my  re- 
quest with  the  best  appliances  and  by  an  expert,  pieces 
from  the  same  line  being  used  for  all,  gave  as  an  aver- 
age of  several  trials,  strength,  dry,  19  lbs.,  14  oz.;  wet, 
14  lbs.,  13  oz.  Indeed,  silk-thread  manufacturers  well 
know  that  the  same  thread  is  much  stronger  dry  than 
when  wet.  A  gentleman  in  whom  I  have  every  confi- 
dence informs  me  that  the  result  of  some  experiments 
he  made  in  this  direction  gave  him  as  an  average,  dry 
strength,  23  pounds;  wet  strength,  14  to  15  pounds; 
waterproofed  in  best  manner,  strength,  18  pounds, 
pieces  from  the  same  line  being  of  course  used.  These 
last-mentioned  experiments  indicate  that  though  water- 


Lines. 


55 


proofing  weakens  the  line  somewhat,  it  does  not  weak- 
en it  nearly  as  much  as  wetting  ;  while  thereafter  the 
strength  remains  constant,  natural  wear  and  tear  ex- 
cepted, whether  the  line  be  wet  or  dry. 

The  choice  then  lies  between  two  varieties  of  water- 
proofed line :  one  being  that  made  from  raw  silk  and 
treated  with  linseed  oil,  and  known  as  an  "  oiled  "  line ; 
the  other  that  from  boiled  silk,  and  waterproofed  by  a 
secret  process,  and  known  as  "enamelled  waterproofed 
line."  The  best  quality  of  the  former  may  be  had  at  an 
expense  of  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  cents  a  yard ; 
but  while  the  cheaper  of  the  two,  its  lesser  strength,  its 
rough  surface,  and  its  inferior  durability,  make  it  in 
effect  the  dearer. 

Few,  familiar  with  the  subject,  will  question  that  the 
general  average  of  the  American  enamelled  water- 
proofed lines  of  to-day  is  inferior  to  the  average  of,  say, 
fifteen  years  ago.  Then  a  marked  difference  in  appear- 
ance and  price  distinguished  the  good  from  the  bad. 
Now  lines  of  all  grades,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  are 
for  sale,  all  made  to  resemble  the  best  grade  in  appear- 
ance as  closely  as  possible. 

Economy  of  production  is  of  the  first  consideration 
in  modern  manufacture.  One,  hoping  to  increase  his 
trade  at  the  expense  of  the  others,  cuts  his  price.  The 
others  first  meet  his  cut  to  hold  their  trade,  and  then 
study  to  cheapen  the  cost  of  production  so  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  retain  their  former  percentage  of  profit.  A 
cheaper  silk  and  a  more  speedy  process  of  waterproof- 
ing naturally  suggest  themselves,  and  an  inferior  prod- 
uct is  the  result. 

An  enamelled  waterproofed  line  in  some  respects  re- 
sembles a  well-painted  board.     It  is  very  difficult  to 


56  Fly -rods  and  Fly -tackle. 

discover  the  real  character  of  the  board  without  first 
ruining  the  paint.  By  employing  the  same  waterproof- 
ing process  two  lines  may  be  made,  one  of  the  best  and 
the  other  of  very  inferior  material,  which  will  so  closely 
resemble  one  another  that  no  purchaser  can  tell  them 
apart  except  as  the  superiority  of  the  one  over  the  other 
becomes  evident  by  use.  While  both  may  be  quite 
strong  enough  when  bought,  it  is  obvious  that  the  bet- 
ter line  has  a  much  wider  margin  for  deterioration  be- 
fore the  safety  limit  is  reached,  and,  consequently,  that 
it  will  outlast  and  is  really  cheaper  than  the  other. 

For  example,  some  cheap  enamelled  waterproofed  lines 
were  obtained  and  submitted  to  the  chief  expert  of  a 
large  silk-mill  for  analysis  and  report.  They  looked  as 
good  as  .the  best.  When  procured  I  could  not  break 
them  with  my  bare  hands.  But  when  the  waterproof- 
ing composition  was  dissolved  away  and  the  textile 
residue  crucially  examined,  they  were  found  to  be  made 
up  of  a  thin  silk  covering  braided  over  a  cotton  core. 

The  basis  of  all  these  waterproofing  mixtures  is  what 
the  organic  chemistries  call  a  "drying  oil" — usually 
linseed-oil.  Other  things  are  mixed  with  the  oil ;  what, 
each  maker  keeps  as  secret  as  he  can.  One  might  as 
well  ask  a  man  what  he  said  and  did  when  he  proposed 
to  his  wife  and  expect  a  full,  true,  and  explicit  answer, 
as  to  ask  a  line  maker  how  he  made  his  waterproofing 
mixture  and  expect  to  learn  anything  definite  from  him. 
The  drying  of  these  oils  is  an  oxidation  process,  and  the 
products  of  this  oxidation  are  extremely  acrid.  No 
common  vegetable  fibre,  perhaps  no  vegetable  fibre, 
will  endure  their  action  without  ruinous  deterioration. 

The  oxidation  of  linseed-oil  is  carried  on  on  a  large 
scale  in  the  manufacture  of  linoleum.      Cotton-cloth 


Lines.  57 

sheets  are  stretched  perpendicularly  and  flooded  once  a 
day  for  several  days  with  the  oil,  under  free  access  of 
air.  Thus  each  dose  of  oil  is  oxidized,  until  a  sheet  of 
tough  amber-colored  jelly  results,  an  inch  or  more  in 
thickness  and  the  size  of  the  cloth.  During  this  process 
the  air  of  the  room  in  which  it  is  conducted  is  so  acrid 
as  to  be  almost  as  intolerable  as  the  vapor  of  ammonia, 
while,  when  the  jelly  is  removed,  the  cotton  cloth  is 
found  rotted  practically  out  of  existence.  Therefore, 
in  waterproofing  a  line  composed  of  a  cotton  core  cov- 
ered with  a  silk  envelope,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  case  of 
"  Hobson's  choice."  Either  the  cotton  core  will  be  so 
rotted  as  to  destroy  its  strength,  or  the  waterproofing 
must  be  superficial  only.  This  latter  is  very  easily 
done.  The  trouble  lies  in  quite  the  other  direction, 
since  to  make  the  mixture  permeate  the  line  to  its  very 
centre  is  a  recognized  difiiculty  and  an  admitted  essen- 
tial in  the  manufacture  of  first-class  lines  of  this  kind. 
The  maker  of  the  cotton-centred  line,  therefore,  has 
but  the  choice  of  either  marketing  his  line  with  its  cen- 
tre already  rotten,  or  in  a  condition  speedily  to  become 
so  with  use.  Naturally  he  chooses  the  latter,  and  a 
line  is  the  result  which  looks  well,  seems  strong,  can  be 
sold  cheap,  and  is  really  dear  at  almost  any  price. 

Contrast  this  trash  with  a  first-class  line.  In  the 
spring  of  1899  I  obtained  samples  of  the  best  quality 
of  enamelled  waterproofed  line  of  the  best  makers. 
Analysis  showed  they  werre  all  made  of  the  best  silk  ; 
whether  Chinese  or  Italian  was  not  certain,  since  it  was 
found  to  be  impossible,  without  more  time  and  trouble 
than  was  thought  warranted,  to  so  thoroughly  eliminate 
the  waterproofing  as  positively  to  determine  this ;  but 
the  mdications  pointed  strongly  to  Chinese  silk.  These 


58  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

lines  were  all  of  the  size  indicated  by  the  letter  E, 
though  they  actually  differed  somewhat  in  diameter,  as 
is  usual  with  the  lines  of  different  makers.  The  water- 
proofing compound  seemed  to  permeate  the  lines  to 
their  very  centre.  When  doubled  so  that  the  parts 
were  in  contact,  then  twisted  together,  and  then  rolled 
between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  with  all  possible  press- 
ure, they  showed  no  disintegration  of  the  waterproofing 
compound  when  the  line  was  again  straightened.  They 
broke  respectively  at  30f  pounds,  27^  pounds,  and  28 
pounds.  An  English  line,  brown  in  color,  of  the  same 
nominal  size,  and  of  best  Chinese  silk  and  very  well 
waterproofed,  but  which  had  been  used  two  seasons, 
broke  at  20^  pounds.  All  were  excellent  lines,  the 
difference  in  strength  being  due  more  to  difference 
in  thickness  than  to  the  quality.  They  retailed  at 
eight  cents  a  yard  level  and  ten  cents  a  yard  when  ta- 
pered at  both  ends,  and  would  outwear  half  a  dozen 
or  more  cotton-centred  lines  at  three  and  a  half  cents. 

In  my  first  edition  I  said  :  "  If  Phariseeism  is  ever  par- 
donable, it  is  when  a  good  enamelled  waterproofed  line  of 
American  manufacture  is  compared  with  thebest  produced 
in  any  other  country."  This  is  certainly  no  longer  true. 
I  have  seen  and  used  English  lines  during  the  last  three 
or  four  years  of  most  satisfactory  excellence.  They  seem 
to  taper  their  lines  better  than  we  do,  in  that  the  taper 
is  longer  and  more  nicely  graduated.  These  lines  were 
said  to  be  waterproofed  in  a  vacuum.  That  is,  substan- 
tially, the  line  was  placed  under  a  receiver,  the  air  ex- 
hausted, and  then  the  waterproofing  compound  intro- 
duced while  the  vacuum  was  still  maintained.  I  have 
heard  this  process  ridiculed  by  dealers  in  this  country, 
but  it  would  seem  without  just  reason.  It  is  of  the  first 


Lines.  69 

importance  to  durability  that  the  waterproofing  mixture 
should  thoroughly  permeate  the  line  to  and  through  its 
very  centre.  Otherwise,  upon  the  first  break  in  the 
waterproof  shell,  due  to  snag  or  rock  or  other  cause,  the 
water  will  penetrate  to  and  fill  the  centre  by  capillarity, 
and  the  line  speedily  rots.  It  is  clear  that  a  boiled-silk 
braided  line  before  treatment  must  have  more  or  less 
air  imprisoned  within  its  meshes.  It  is  equally  clear 
that  such  a  line  cannot  be  thoroughly  permeated  with 
any  liquid  until  after  this  air  is  thoroughly  displaced. 
With  fluids  so  viscid  as  are  all  these  waterproofing  mix- 
tures, it  would  seem  as  if  the  desired  result  could  be  ob- 
tained with  far  more  ease  and  certainty  by  the  aid  of 
the  air-pump,  than  by  any  merely  mechanical  squeezing 
process.  It  is  very  diflicult  to  determine  by  inspection 
whether  the  waterproofing  has  really  filled  the  centre 
of  a  line.  Of  course,  the  extreme  ends  are  filled,  since 
they  are  directly  exposed  to  the  liquid,  so  nothing  can 
be  learned  from  them.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  ends 
are  cut  off,  the  edge  of  the  cutting  tool  crushes  and 
welds  the  waterproofing  compound  together,  making  it 
appear  as  though  the  line  were  filled  to  its  centre,  when 
really  such  may  not  be  the  case.  A  process  which,  by 
the  operation  of  a  law  of  nature,  automatically  insures 
the  desired  result,  as  it  would  seem  the  air-pump  process 
must,  would  appear  to  be  advantageous. 

While,  of  course,  I  may  be  all  wrong,  still  it  is  to  this 
method  of  application,  in  combination  with  celluloid  so- 
lution as  a  waterproofing  compound,  that  I  look  for  the 
line  of  the  future.  Celluloid  can  be  given  any  desired 
degree  of  toughness  and  flexibility  by  the  addition  of 
castor-oil  to  its  solution,  and  if  the  cotton  from  which 
the  celluloid  is  made  is  well  washed  and  neutralized 


80  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

after  nitration,  there  is  nothing  in  its  solution  which 
should  impair  the  strength  of  any  fibre,  animal  or  vege- 
table. It  is,  moreover,  thoroughly  waterproof.  Arti- 
ficial leathers  are  now  made  by  surfacing  Canton  (cot- 
ton) flannel  with  celluloid  toughened  with  castor-oil, 
which  are  strong,  durable,  and  flexible,  and  so  water- 
proofed that  one  may  empty  an  ink-stand  upon  the  fin- 
ished surface,  wash  it  off  at  leisure,  and  no  mark  of  its 
baptism  will  remain.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  no  angler 
could  examine  these  artificial  leathers,  try  their  strength, 
their  toughness,  their  pliability,  and  their  indifference  to 
creasing  and  water,  without  sighing  for  a  line  so  pre- 
pared. The  probable  advantages — no  loss  of  strength, 
any  fibre,  absolute  indifference  to  water  and  kinking, 
and  less  than  a  day  for  every  week  now  required  in 
preparation  —  would  seem  to  warrant  quite  persistent 
trial  of  this  compound  on  the  part  of  line-makers.  It 
should  be  added,  however,  that  my  own  experiments 
were  not  successful — the  line  was  not  well  filled.  But 
the  circumstances  were  very  unfavorable.  I  could  nei- 
ther conduct  the  matter  myself,  nor  see  it  done ;  but 
was  obliged  to  content  myself  with  verbal  instructions 
through  an  intermediary  to  a  person  who  had  never  seen 
a  waterproofed  enamelled  line,  except,  perhaps,  in  a  casual 
way.  Success  under  such  circumstances  was  hardly  to 
be  expected. 

Celluloid  varnishes,  which,  when  thinned  with  a  proper 
solvent,  should  answer  the  purpose,  may  be  had  in  the 
market,  or  the  varnish  may  be  made  by  dissolving  scrap 
celluloid.  Amyl-acetate  would  be  the  best  solvent  were 
it  not  for  its  strong  banana-like  odor,  which  soon  be- 
comes disagreeable  to  all  and  produces  headache  in 
many.     Acetone  is,  therefore,  to   be   preferred.      This 


Lines.  61 

solvent  may  readily  be  procured  from  or  through  any 
apothecary.  It  is  produced  on  a  commercial  scale  by 
the  dry  distillation  of  acetate  of  lime.  It  resembles  al- 
cohol in  appearance,  is  highly  volatile  and  inflammable, 
has  a  slight  empyreumatic  odor,  is  neither  acid  nor  al- 
kaline, and  is  one  of  the  best  solvents  for  resins,  fats, 
camphor,  and  gun-cotton,  of  which  two  latter  bodies  cel- 
luloid is  a  product.  Besides  its  ordinary  use  as  a  sol- 
vent, it  is  employed  in  the  arts  for  the  manufacture  of 
chloroform,  and  as  a  solvent  for  gun-cotton  and  nitro- 
glycerine in  the  production  of  smokeless  powders.  It 
is  as  safe  as  alcohol  if  the  same  precautions  are  taken 
in  its  use. 

The  procedure  may  be  substantially  as  follows : 
Gradually  add  translucent  scrap  celluloid,  such  as  is 
used  in  photographic  films,  to  a  pint  or  more  of  acetone 
until  the  resulting  solution  is  of  the  desired  consistency. 
Then  try  a  drop  or  two  to  see  whether  it  dries  transpa- 
rent and  firm,  or  white  and  friable.  If  the  first,  it  is  all 
right ;  if  the  last,  it  is  all  wrong. 

The  same  test  should  be  applied  if  bought  celluloid 
varnish  is  to  be  used.  A  small  sample  should  be  thinned 
with  acetone  to  the  desired  degree,  and  then  a  drop  or 
two  should  be  tried  in  the  same  way.  In  either  case  if 
the  varnish  dries  white  it  is  due  to  water  in  the  acetone. 
Like  alcohol,  all  acetone  contains  water  unless  special 
means  have  been  taken  to  eliminate  it.  From  a  solu- 
tion of  celluloid  in  acetone,  the  highly  volatile  acetone 
first  evaporates,  leaving  the  water,  until  the  remaining 
solvent  contains  so  large  a  proportion  of  water  as  to  be 
no  longer  a  solvent  and  the  celluloid  separates. 

Assuming  that  the  varnish  dries  white,  then  add  pe- 
troleum benzine  of  low  boiling  point,  such  as  is  used  to 


62  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

clean  clothes,  to  the  amount  of  about  a  fourth  part  of 
the  acetone,  and  shake  well.  Then  allow  the  mixture 
to  stand  and  settle.  The  water  will  then  go  to  the 
bottom,  and  the  clear  varnish  is  to  be  drawn  from  the 
top,  to  be  again  tested  as  to  whether  it  will  dry  clear 
and  firm.  If  it  does  not,  add  a  little  more  benzine  and 
try  again. 

A  clear  drying  varnish  having  been  thus  obtained, 
then,  and  not  until  then,  add  about  two-thirds  of  the 
weight  of  the  dry  celluloid  taken,  of  castor-oil,  shake 
well,  and  give  it  time  to  thoroughly  mix  so  as  to  obtain 
a  uniform  product.  Then  try  it  on  a  piece  of  line.  If 
not  tough  enough  when  perfectly  dry,  which  will  be  in 
a  few  hours,  add  a  little  more  oil.  If  too  soft,  add  an 
ounce  or  two  of  celluloid  solution,  and  so  on  until  the 
mixture  gives  the  desired  result.  If  bought  celluloid 
varnish  is  used,  estimate  the  dry  celluloid  it  contains  at 
about  ten  per  cent. 

Acetone,  which  is  to  be  used  merely  as  a  diluent,  may 
be  treated  with  benzine  by  itself  to  eliminate  the  water 
it  may  contain,  in  which  case  use  twenty-five  per  cent, 
of  benzine,  shake  repeatedly,  and  give  plenty  of  time 
for  the  water  to  precipitate. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  foregoing  directions 
are  not  based  upon  personal  experiment  in  waterproof- 
ing fishing-lines  with  celluloid,  but  upon  the  practice  in 
the  art  of  making  artificial  leathers  by  coating  cotton 
flannel  with  celluloid.  They  are  intended,  therefore, 
merely  as  a  guide  to  experiment,  and  not  as  a  hard  and 
fast  recipe.  The  coating  of  those  leathers,  as  nearly  as 
repeated  examination  and  testing  allows  me  to  judge, 
seems  to  be  just  the  sort  of  impregnation  an  enamelled 
waterproofed  line  should  have,  while  the  mixture  has 


Lines.  63 

no  tendency  to  rot  the  fibre  as  do  the  waterproofing 
mixtures  now  in  use.  But  in  these  experiments,  as  in 
all  experiments  of  the  kind,  measured  quantities  should 
be  used  and  a  written  record  kept,  so  that  an  achieved 
success  may  be  readily  repeated. 

Nothing  in  reference  to  fly-fishing  can  be  answered 
with  such  ease  and  confidence  as  the  question  what  line 
should  be  used.  Unquestionably  the  enamelled  water- 
proofed line,  and  no  other.  If  not  decrepit  through 
old  age — and  their  longevity  is  far  in  excess  of  any  other 
line — in  strength  they  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 
Smooth  as  ivory  on  the  surface,  they  render  through 
the  rings  with  the  minimum  of  friction.  Their  weight 
is  sufficient  to  cast  nicely  without  being  excessive,  and 
at  the  same  time  is  always  uniform  ;  while  their  flexi- 
bility is  just  as  it  should  be,  neither  so  great  as  to  foul 
the  tip,  nor  so  stiff  as  to  cause  inconvenience.  In  short, 
they  are  as  nearly  perfect  as  the  work  of  man's  hands 
is  permitted  to  be. 

The  illustration  on  the  following  page  shows  the  most 
available  of  the  various  sizes  manufactured,  and  the 
numbers  or  letters  by  which  they  are  known  to  the  trade. 

Aside  from  the  difference  in  diameter,  two  styles  of 
these  lines  are  to  be  had:  "tapered,"  in  which  the  last 
twenty  feet  or  less  is  gradually  diminished  in  thick- 
ness by  dropping  out  a  strand  at  proper  intervals ;  and 
•*  level,"  in  which  that  dimension  is  uniform  throughout. 

Which  shall  I  use,  "tapered"  or  "level"?  The  an- 
swer to  this  question  is  not  so  simple  as  it  may  look.  A 
good  working  method  in  such  cases  is  to  analyze  the 
problem,  setting  down  not  what  we  can  have,  but  what 
we  would  like  to  have.  If  we  find  that  our  wishes  are 
inconsistent  and  that  we  cannot  have  each  desired  feat- 


64 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 


ure  in  its  entirety,  then  we  must  consider  what  conceS' 
sion  each  conflicting  element  shall  make  to  the  others 
in  order  to  effect  the  best  practical  compromise. 


Fig.  IT. 

In  a  fly-fishing  line  the  following  would  seem  to  be 
the  desiderata  : 

First.  We  should  like  invisibility,  so  that  the  fish 
may  not  see  the  line  and  detect  our  false  pretence.  The 
line  should  be  thin  to  the  vanishing  degree. 

Second.  We  should  like  such  strength  that,  even  af- 
ter the  deterioration  incident  to  protracted  use,  a  sufll- 
cient  reserve  will  remain  not  only  to  handle  the  largest 
fish  to  be  hoped  for,  but  also  to  clear  the  line  without 
breaking  from  any  not  too  obdurate  bush  or  snag. 


Lines.  65 

Third.  We  must  have  weight,  not  only  to  bring  out  the 
action  of  the  rod,  but  also  so  that  the  line  will  hold  its 
own,  at  least  to  some  extent,  against  the  wind,  and  we 
not  be  paralyzed  by  every  trifling  adverse  summer 
zephyr.  The  momentum  of  the  line  in  act  of  casting  is 
measured  by  its  weight  multiplied  by  its  velocity.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  no  conceivable  impetus  will  an- 
swer the  purpose  unless  the  line  has  weight ;  also,  that  the 
more  weight  it  has,  provided  the  rod  can  readily  handle 
it,  the  more  independent  of  circumstances  we  shall  be. 

These  considerations  would  seem  to  point  to  a  thin 
yet  heavy  line,  weight  being  assumed  to  imply  increase 
of  material  and,  therefore,  strength ;  that  is,  a  thin  line 
and  a  thick  line.  But  since  one  and  the  same  thing 
cannot  at  the  same  time  be  both  thick  and  thin  at  one 
and  the  same  point,  the  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty 
would  seem  to  be  to  make  the  line  thick  where  thick- 
ness would  do  the  least  harm,  and  thin  where  thinness 
would  do  the  most  good.  Thickness  except  at  the 
ends,  and  thinness  only  at  the  ends — in  other  words,  a 
tapered  line  —  would  therefore  seem,  theoretically  at 
least,  to  be  the  proper  thing. 

Theory  and  practice  I  believe  to  be  in  accord  in  this 
matter.  Still  many  very  expert  fly-fishermen,  perhaps 
a  majority  of  them,  habitually  use  only  a  level  line. 
All  admit  that  the  tapered  line  casts  the  neater  fly  ; 
also  that  its  end  where  fastened  to  the  leader  can  with- 
out injury  be  thinner,  and  consequently  less  conspicu- 
ous, than  in  a  level  line.  Both  lines  must  have  suflicient 
thickness  to  give  the  requisite  weight.  But  while  the 
level  line  must  carry  this  thickness  to  its  end,  the 
tapered  line  can  be  thinned  down  as  far  as  is  consistent 
with  the  desired  strength. 

6 


66  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTde, 

One  objection  to  the  tapered  line  is  that  it  costs  more 
— short  taper  of  four  or  five  feet,  eight  cents  a  yard ; 
long  taper  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  ten  cents ;  level, 
six  and  a  half  cents. 

Again,  no  person  of  experience  casts  a  longer  line 
than  the  necessities  of  the  case  require.  The  eighty 
feet  casts  of  the  tournament  have  little  or  no  place  in 
practical  fishing ;  and  when  casting,  the  line  is  kept 
out  of  the  water  as  much  as  possible,  so  that  only  a  few 
feet  of  its  outer  end  is  constantly  wetted.  As  these 
lines  are  practically  never  taken  from  the  reel  to  dry, 
after  a  greater  or  less  lapse  of  time  the  strength  of  that 
portion  becomes  impaired.  The  expert  angler  never 
thinks  of  inaugurating  a  new  season  without  carefully 
testing  the  strength  of  this  part  of  his  last  year's  line, 
breaking  it  off  at  the  slightest  suspicion  of  weakness,  a 
foot  or  two  at  a  time,  until  sound  material  is  reached. 
Now  in  the  tapered  not  only  does  this  decay,  because  of 
the  smaller  diametef,  reach  the  danger  point  much 
sooner  than  in  the  level  line,  but  it  extends  farther  up 
the  line ;  and  if  any  part  must  be  sacrificed,  it  is  the 
tapered  portion  which  must  go.  The  result  is  that  the 
tapered  line,  after  a  couple  of  seasons,  becomes  a  '*  level " 
line,  and  of  a  thickness  greater  than  the  angler  would 
prefer.  Therefore  it  seems  advisable,  if  economy  be 
any  object,  to  buy  a  level  line  of  the  very  best  quality, 
and  at  least  forty  yards  —  better  fifty  —  of  it.  Such  a 
line  will  last  for  years.  About  twenty-five  yards  is  the 
minimum  length  that  a  trout  fly-line  should  be,  so  this 
gives  a  good  reserve  to  meet  either  accident  or  decay; 
and  it  will  be  long  before  you  are  encumbered  with  that 
mass  of  trash  which  is  the  angler's  bane — flies,  leaders, 
and  lines,  which  you  dare  not  use,  are  ashamed  to  give 


Lines.  67 

away,  but  still  seem  too  good  to  throw  in  the  fire  where 
they  properly  belong. 

There  is  great  temptation  to  economy  in  the  purchase 
of  lines.  Plenty  that  look  equally  well  can  be  had  at 
half  price.  But  you  know  the  consequences  of  yielding 
to  temptation,  and  believe  me,  this  will  not  prove  the 
exception  which  makes  the  rule.  A  little  cold  common- 
sense  will  teach  that,  in  this  benighted  age  and  country, 
no  man  sells  an  article  in  the  regular  way  of  trade  for 
two  or  three  cents  a  yard,  the  market  value  of  which  is 
seven  or  eight.  But  if  economy  is  not  an  object,  then 
a  tapered  line  is  to  be  preferred,  in  my  judgment.  But 
it  should  be  tapered  at  both  ends,  so  that  when  one 
taper  is  gone  the  line  can  be  turned  end  for  end  and  the 
other  taper  used,  thus  giving  the  line  double  life. 

Again,  there  is  the  short  taper  of  five  or  six  feet  or 
less,  and  the  long  taper  of  eighteen  or  twenty  or  more 
feet.  For  one  who  rarely  casts  over  forty  feet,  the 
short  taper  is,  at  the  start,  quite  as  good,  if  not  better, 
than  the  long.  But  one  long  tapered  line  will  outlast 
two  or  more  short  tapered — that  is,  the  long  tapered 
line  can  afford  to  lose  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  of  the 
taper  quite  as  well  as  the  short  tapered  line  can  afford 
to  lose  three  or  four  feet. 

The  question  of  size  remains  to  be  discussed.  The 
controlling  factor  which  governs  the  answer  is  the  flexi- 
bility of  the  rod.  To  obtain  the  best  results,  the  line 
must  fit  the  rod  as  a  coat  fits  a  well-dressed  man's  back. 
Unless  the  flexibility  of  the  rod  be  first  known,  it  is  as 
impossible  to  say  what  sized  line  is  best  suited  to  it  as 
to  say  what  sized  coat  will  fit  a  man  without  knowing 
whether  he  is  tall  or  short,  fat  or  thin. 

The  line  must  have  weight  enough  to  bring  out  the 


6d  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

spring  of  the  rod,  since  it  is  this  spring  rather  than  the 
muscular  effort  upon  which  we  rely  to  project  the  fly. 
The  difference  is  that  of  throwing  an  apple,  for  exam- 
ple, by  hand,  and  casting  it  from  the  end  of  a  flexible 
stick.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rod  must  not  be  over- 
weighted, since  then  control  of  both  the  back  and  for- 
ward casts  is  in  measure  lost  and  they  become  uncertain, 
particularly  if  the  caster  is  hampered  by  a  wind.  It  is 
no  pleasant  surprise  to  be  struck  in  the  face  by  one's 
own  flies  on  the  back  cast,  for  even  if  the  point  of  the 
hook  be  escaped  the  impact  will  remind  one  of  the  sting 
of  a  bean  from  a  bean-shooter. 

Another  thing  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  The 
load  upon  a  rod  varies,  of  course,  with  the  length  of 
line  cast.  Therefore,  for  any  given  rod,  the  best  size  of 
line  is  a  matter  of  compromise.  Taking  all  these  things 
into  consideration,  if  we  say  that  the  line  best  fits  a  rod 
with  which  one  can  cast  thirty-five  or  forty  feet  most 
easily,  we  shall  have  a  very  fair  working  rule. 

Nothing  makes  more  difference  in  the  pleasure  of 
fly-fishing  than  this  adjustment  of  line  to  rod.  When 
in  harmony  they  work  together  as  though  themselves 
almost  instinct  with  life.  The  flies  flit  backward  and 
forward  with  hardly  a  conscious  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  angler,  though  wholly  obedient  to  his  will.  Like 
turning  a  corner  on  a  bicycle,  it  seems  to  go  itself  as 
and  where  desired.  On  the  other  hand,  few  spectacles 
in  fly-fishing  are  more  pitiable  to  see  than  one — usually 
a  beginner  who  should  have  every  encouragement — en- 
deavoring to  cast  a  light  line  with  a  stiff  rod.  The  less 
he  accomplishes  the  more  he  exerts  himself,  and  the 
more  he  exerts  himself  the  less  he  accomplishes.  It 
looks  so  easy  for  others,  yet  seems  so  impossible  for  him. 


Lines.  W 

What  should  be  a  pleasure  is  a  sickening  disappoint- 
ment. He  is  trying  to  accomplish  the  almost  impossi- 
ble— a  task  no  expert  would  attempt. 

Remember  the  integrity  of  your  tackle  should  al- 
ways be  absolutely  above  suspicion.  Buy  your  line  of 
a  house  with  a  reputation  to  maintain,  and  ask  for  the 
best  and  pay  the  price,  and  you  will  get  it.  Be  sure  if 
a  seeming  bargain  is  offered  you  in  fishing-tackle,  you 
will  eventually  find  it  dear  at  any  price.  For  trout- 
fishing  F  is  the  best  size  if  the  line  is  "  level,"  but  E  if 
"tapered." 

For  actual  fly-fishing  these  seem  to  me  the  sizes  best 
adapted  to  the  average  American  fly-rod  of  to-day  ;  still 
there  is  at  present  unquestionably  a  tendency  among 
experts  towards  heavier  grades.  The  enormous  distances 
covered  at  the  recent  casting  tournaments  naturally  ex- 
cite the  emulation  of  those  who  witness  or  read  of  them, 
and  they  as  naturally  turn  to  that  style  of  line  which  is 
best  for  that  purpose.  It  is  undoubtedly  an  accomplish- 
ment to  be  able  repeatedly  to  cast  to  the  distance  of 
eighty  feet,  and  retrieve  the  line  without  fastening  a  fly 
in  your  ear ;  since  he  who  can  do  this  can  cover  the  ex- 
treme limit  of  practical  fly-fishing  with  the  utmost  ease, 
and  can  therefore  devote  all  his  attention  to  delicacy 
and  accuracy.  But  whether  the  use  on  a  single-handed 
fly-rod  —  unless  it  be  very  short  and  stiff  —  of  lines  so 
heavy  as  C  or  even  D  is  really  an  advance  in  the  art, 
seems  to  me  very  questionable.  Does  it  not  entail  a 
sacrifice  on  the  part  of  all,  except  perhaps  the  most  skil- 
ful, of  those  important  requisites,  delicacy  and  accuracy 
(construing  the  latter  term  to  include  not  only  reaching 
the  desired  pointy  but  doing  so  with  a  perfectly  straight 
line) ;  and  this  to  attain  a  command  of  distance  seldom 


70  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

or  never  of  use  except  for  show  ?  One  thing,  how- 
ever, seems  certain.  If  one  must  err  in  this  respect, 
it  is  far  better  to  have  the  line  too  heavy  than  too 
light. 

But  if  the  rod  is  stiif  as  fly-rods  go,  which  is  my  own 
personal  preference,  then  a  long-tapered  D  line  is  un- 
questionably the  thing.  Of  late  years,  my  fishing  has 
been  mainly  from  boat  or  canoe,  in  open  water,  exposed 
to  every  wind  that  blows  ;  where,  in  order  to  get  the 
sun  right,  so  that  it  should  not  cast  a  moving  shadow 
of  my  rod  over  the  water  to  be  fished,  I  was  often  com- 
pelled to  take  the  wind  wrong.  A  heavy  line,  and  a  rod 
with  the  power  to  handle  it,  is  indispensable  to  pleasur- 
able angling  under  such  conditions. 

In  1884  I  tried  a  D  long-tapered  line  for  some  weeks 
of  constant  daily  fishing,  expressly  to  test  the  compara- 
tive merits  of  the  heavier  lines  then  coming  into  use. 
The  conclusions  then  formed  for  my  own  guidance,  and 
since  confirmed  during  many  outings  from  north  of  An- 
ticosti  Island  on  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Sitka  in  Alaska, 
were  as  follows  :  On  a  flexible  rod  the  D  line  seemed  at 
all  times  a  positive  disadvantage.  Upon  a  ten-foot  stiif 
split-bamboo,  against  the  wind,  it  worked  well,  since  hav- 
ing more  momentum  it  naturally  held  its  way  better. 
In  casting  over  about  forty -five  feet  it  really  worked 
like  a  charm,  the  line  seeming  to  go  backward  and  for- 
ward, as  if  it  were  alive  and  acting  of  its  own  volition, 
rather  than  from  the  apparently  insignificant  impulse 
given  to  the  rod.  This  began  to  be  felt  at  the  distance 
named,  and  increased  rapidly  as  more  line  was  used.  In- 
deed so  pleasurable  was  it  that  I  was  forced  continually 
to  check  myself,  lest  I  should  fall  into  the  altogether 
too  common  error  of  ignoring  good  water  close  at  hand, 


Lines.  71 

to  cast  in  less  promising  places  at  a  greater  distance. 
But  —  ever  that  dreadful  but  —  decided  and  increasing 
disadvantages  became  apparent  as  the  length  of  the  cast 
was  reduced  below  that  distance.  I  like  to  see  the  fly 
shoot  out  straight,  pause  a  short  distance  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  and  then  fall  upon  it  by  its  own  grav- 
ity alone.  The  momentum  of  the  heavy  line  was  such 
that  it  required  the  very  nicest  adjustment  of  the  im- 
pulse to  the  distance  to  be  covered,  lest  the  line  reach 
its  full  length  before  its  inertia  was  overcome,  and  thus, 
suddenly  checked,  recoil  and  fall  sinuously  upon  the 
water;  and  this  difficulty  rapidly  increased  as  the  line 
was  shortened.  Now  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  five 
and  a  half  times  the  length  of  the  rod  approximates 
pretty  closely  to  the  limit  of  efficient  casting  in  actual 
fly-fishing,  while  we  all  know  that  over  nine-tenths  of 
all  the  fish  are  taken  within  say  forty  feet  of  the  angler. 
Therefore,  if  it  be  wise  to  adapt  your  tools  to  your  ev- 
ery-day  work,  rather  than  to  that  which  you  will  do 
only  on  your  birthday,  it  would  seem  that  the  beginner 
would  do  well  to  use  no  line  heavier  than  a  "  level  E," 
unless  his  rod  be  quite  stiff. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  like  to  make  their  own 
tackle,  and  are  ambitious  to  waterproof  a  line,  the  fol- 
lowing recipes  are  given: 

First  buy  a  boiled-silk  braided  line  of  the  proper  diam- 
eter, and  of  the  very  best  quality  if  you  would  not  have 
it  rot  in  the  process. 


73  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 


TO    OIL-DRESS    LINES. 

Heat  two  ounces  of  linseed -oil  until  it  will  singe  a 
feather  dipped  in  it.  Melt  in  and  mix  thoroughly  with 
it  a  piece  of  camphor  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut.  Stir  in  an 
equal  proportion  of  good  oil -copal  varnish.  Soak  the 
line  in  the  mixture  while  the  latter  is  warm,  until  thor- 
oughly saturated.  Then  draw  the  line  through  the  fold 
of  a  doubled  leather,  held  in  the  hand  and  firmly  com- 
pressed upon  it,  to  squeeze  out  all  the  dressing  you  can. 
Stretch  in  a  garret,  or  similar  place,  to  dry.  This  will 
take  some  days  according  to  weather.  When  dry,  warm 
your  mixture  and  soak  again.  Squeeze  as  before.  When 
this  is  dry,  rub  on  the  third  coat  with  a  rag,  and  wipe 
the  line  well  afterwards.  When  this  coat  is  thoroughly 
dry,  rub  well  with  a  paraffine  candle  from  one  end  to 
the  other,  then  polish  by  rubbing  briskly  with  a  woollen 
rag.  It  will  take  at  least  a  month  to  so  prepare  a  line, 
for  no  second  coat  must  be  applied  until  its  predecessor 
is  thoroughly  dry. 

Norris  recommends,  quoting  from  Chitty: 
"  To  a  quarter  of  a  pint  of  double-boiled,  cold-drawn 
linseed  -  oil  add  one  ounce  of  gold-size.  Gently  warm 
and  mix  them  well,  being  first  careful  to  have  the  line 
quite  dry.  When  this  mixture  is  warm,  soak  it  therein 
until  it  is  saturated  to  its  very  centre — say  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  Then  pass  it  through  a  piece  of  flannel, 
pressing  it  sufficiently  to  take  off  the  superficial  coat, 
which  enables  that  which  is  in  the  interior  to  dry  well, 
and  in  time  to  get  stiff.  The  line  must  then  be  hung  up 
in  the  air,  wind,  or  sun,  out  of  the  reach  of  moisture  for 
about  a  fortnight,  till  pretty  well  dry.  It  must  then  be 
redipped  to  give  an  outer  coat,  for  which  less  soaking  is 


Lines,  78 

necessary.  After  this,  wipe  it  again  but  lightly;  wind  it 
on  a  chair-back  or  towel-horse  before  a  hot  fire;  let  it 
remain  for  two  or  three  hours,  which  will  cause  the  mixt- 
ure on  it  *to  flow'  (as  japanners  term  it),  and  give  an 
even  gloss  to  the  whole.  It  must  then  be  left  to  dry  as 
before:  the  length  of  time,  as  it  depends  on  the  weather 
and  place,  observation  must  determine  upon." 

Personally,  the  writer  has  succeeded  fairly  well  with 
two-thirds  boiled  linseed-oil  and  one-third  best  coach- 
body  varnish  mixed  together,  and  warmed  till  it  will 
singe  a  feather.  To  four  ounces  measure  of  this  mixt- 
ure about  half  a  teaspoonful  of  siccative  coutrai  (to  be 
had  at  any  dealer  in  artists'  materials)  may  be  added, 
to  hasten  the  drying  if  you  are  of  an  impatient  disposi- 
tion. Otherwise,  leave  it  out,  since  all  dryers  impair 
the  result.  Soak  twice  and  rub  once,  having  the  mixt- 
ure then  warmed  to  a  temperature  not  exceeding  100° 
Fahr.  Finish  and  polish  with  paraffine  candle  as  be- 
fore. 

Boiled-silk  braided  line  only  is  adapted  to  these  proc- 
esses. Remember  the  mixture  must  in  none  of  them  be 
80  warm,  when  applied  to  the  line,  as  to  be  uncomfortable 
to  the  touch,  otherwise  your  line  will  be  "  rotten  "  and 
your  experiment  a  failure.  The  only  object  in  heating 
the  mixture  is  that  it  is  thus  rendered  more  fluid,  and  in 
this  condition  is  more  readily  absorbed  by  the  line;  but 
it  is  an  essential  step,  since  otherwise  the  preparation 
may  not  permeate  throughout  the  line,  and  if  it  fails  to 
do  this  at  the  first  soaking,  it  never  will  afterwards. 
On  the  second  application  the  warmth  softens  to  some 
extent  the  preceding  dose,  and  the  two  amalgamate  bet- 
ter, so  to  speak.  Wind  is  the  potent  element  in  drying 
mixtures  of  this  kind.     Therefore,  if  possible,  expose 


74  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

your  line  to  its  influence,  since  it  will  then  dry  more  in 
one  day  than  in  three  if  kept  in-doors. 

But  the  preparation  of  a  line  by  any  of  these  proc- 
esses, is  a  nasty,  tedious,  and  ill-smelling  job.  It  is  far 
better  to  pay  seven  or  eight  cents  a  yard  for  a  good  en- 
amelled waterproofed  line  to  some  good  house.  You 
may  feel  pretty  confident  you  will  wish  you  had  done 
so  before  you  get  through  preparing  one  yourself. 

Select  a  line  not  too  long  in  stock. 

Before  buying,  double  the  line  close  to  the  end,  twist 
the  loop  together  hard,  and  roll  it  between  the  thumb 
and  finger  with  all  convenient  pressure.  Then  untwist 
and  straighten  the  loop,  and  see  whether  the  water- 
proofing has  disintegrated.  This  will  be  indicated  by 
the  line  becoming  whitish  where  so  treated,  and  shows 
that  the  waterproofing  compound  is  too  hard  and  brit- 
tle. The  line  will  be  in  the  form  of  a  coil.  See  that  the 
coils  stick  together  very  little,  if  at  all,  since  this  indi- 
cates that  the  composition  is  too  soft,  that  it  will  speedi- 
ly wear  off  in  running  through  the  rings  of  the  rod,  and 
that  the  line  will  soon  rot.  All  this,  however,  is  to  some 
extent  a  question  of  temperature.  I  have  yet  to  see  a 
waterproofing  compound  upon  a  line  which  is  just  right 
at  a  freezing  temperature  and  also  at  95°  Fahr.  Cellu- 
loid may  do  it,  but  I  doubt  its  possibility  with  any  com- 
pound having  a  drying-oil  for  its  base.  A  little  common- 
sense  is  therefore  in  order,  and  a  line  which  it  is  judged 
will  be  all  right  in  these  respects,  at  a  temperature  from 
55  to  75°  Fahr.,  should  be  considered  satisfactory.  Then 
try  the  strength  of  the  exposed  end  of  the  line,  and  if  it 
breaks  easily  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Ask  the  deal- 
er's consent  to  this,  which  if  he  refuses  try  elsewhere. 
For  the  best  makers  or  their  employes  sometimes  make 


Lines,  75 

mistakes,  and  rot  the  line  in  the  process  of  preparation. 
This  will  at  once  be  detected  on  proving  it  in  this  way. 
This  precaution  should  never  be  neglected,  lest  you 
"sound  the  depths  of  dark  despair,"  as  did  the  writer, 
who,  on  one  occasion,  was  caught  as  follows  in  the  wilds 
of  Maine,  with  a  brand-new  tapered  forty-yard  line  then 
used  for  the  first  time,  and  bought  from  a  most  reputa- 
ble dealer.  For  months  the  trip  had  been  anticipated 
and  prepared  for.  You  know,  or  if  not,  may  you  soon 
know,  the  April  fever  of  the  trout  fisherman — that  rest- 
less longing  for  the  green  woods  and  silvery  stream 
which  precedes  the  opening  season — when  no  matter 
how  happily  he  may  be  circumstanced,  something  essen- 
tial seems  wanting.  If  it  has  a  parallel,  it  is  only  in  the 
sensations  of  the  confirmed  smoker,  who,  in  a  moment 
of  weakness  and  repletion,  has  "  sworn  off." 

The  legion,  who,  without  other  cause,  have  committed 
this  folly,  and  who  remember  with  what  longing  they 
looked  towards  the  appointed  time,  and  the  halting  march 
of  the  carefully  counted  days,  unrelieved  by  the  assur- 
ance of  the  considerate  friend  "that  the  watched  pot 
never  boils  " — those  who  remember  this,  and  how  "  free- 
dom shrieked  "  when  once  again  the  way  to  the  tobac- 
conist was  open — such  only,  outside  the  brotherhood  of 
anglers,  can  appreciate  the  thrill  with  which  my  maiden 
cast  was  at  last  delivered. 

Two  fine  trout  rose  at  once  to  the  flies,  leaping  clear 
of  the  water  in  their  eager  rivalry,  their  red  and  golden 
sides  flashing  like  jewels  in  the  morning  sun.  A  quick 
strike,  and — the  line  comes  back,  but  where  are  the  flies 
and  the  trout  ? 

He  who  sits  down  on  an  imaginary  chair ;  he  who 
would  raise  his  hat  to  salute  his  would-be  sweetheart, 


76  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

and  is  forced  instead  to  follow  its  gyrations  through  the 
mud  and  filth  of  a  city  street;  he  who  eagerly  reaches 
before  him  in  the  darkness  for  an  open  door,  and  finds 
it  with  his  nose — these  have  experienced  the  pangs  of 
blasted  hope,  and  can  sympathize.  Paralysis  followed 
the  blow ;  and  when  at  length  the  world  rolled  on  once 
more  in  its  appointed  orbit,  I  began  the  old  familiar 
process  of  endeavoring  to  convince  myself  that  the  re- 
sult of  my  own  stupidity  was  an  arrow  of  fate.  The 
fault  of  the  leader  it  could  not  be,  for  it  had  been  tested 
not  an  hour  previously.  The  shortening  line  comes 
slowly  in,  watched  with  anxious  eyes.  But  where  is 
the  leader — alas !  careering  round  in  the  depths  of  the 
Moose  Brook,  a  bond  of  union  between  two  most  un- 
happy trout. 

Then,  I  fear,  not  all  the  Commandments  were  remem- 
bered. 

The  angler  who,  under  such  misfortune,  can  preserve 
his  equanimity,  must  possess  a  degree  of  philosophy  in- 
deed phenomenal.  My  philosophy  is  quite  dilute,  so  I 
went  for  John.  John — good,  kind,  honest  John — patient, 
conscientious,  of  untiring  energy ;  courteous  and  consid- 
erate alike  in  sunshine  and  storm,  in  time  of  plenty  or 
famine  ;  the  prince  of  guides,  whose  skill  at  the  trap,  the 
paddle,  the  rifle,  and  the  rod  are  unequalled;  who  forgets 
more  overnight  of  the  ways  of  the  wilderness  than  I  shall 
ever  know.  A  most  aggravating  fellow  is  that  John. 
We  have  been  together  for  years,  and  many  are  the  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  which  have  arisen.  The  worst  of 
him  is  that  he  is  invariably  in  the  right,  and  that 
I  am  always  forced  in  consequence  to  eat  "humble 
pie."  ^ 

"John,  you  must  have  let  that  knot  upset  when 


Lines.  77 

you  bent  that  leader  to  the  line.  You  see  it's  entirely- 
gone." 

"I  think  not,  sir,"  came  the  quiet  answer. 

"Well,  how  else  could  such  a  disgusting  thing  happen  ? 
You  know  the  leader  was  tested  not  an  hour  ago.  It  was 
wet  then,  and  was  fastened  to  the  line  immediately  after- 
wards, so  the  loop  could  not  have  been  cracked  or  weak, 
and  the  break  must  have  been  there." 

"  Perhaps  something  may  be  wrong  about  the  line." 

"  Nonsense ;  the  line  is  brand-new — never  through  the 
rings  before.  Take  off  that  other  leader  from  your  hat 
and  put  it  on  the  line  ;  give  me  a  Montreal  stretcher 
and  a  brown  hackle  for  a  dropper.  There — let  me  look 
at  that  knot.  Yes,  that's  all  right;  I  don't  believe  they 
will  get  away  with  that  in  a  hurry.  Perhaps  we  may 
sicken  some  of  them  yet."  For  your  true  fisherman  al- 
ways regards  the  fish  who  carries  away  his  tackle  as  the 
Englishman  looks  on  the  restlessness  of  his  uncivilized 
subjects — as  a  monstrous  ingratitude,  to  be  atoned  for 
by  the  offender  if  catchable  ;  if  not,  by  his  kindred. 

Human  nature  is  not  altogether  confined  to  the  British 
Isles ;  a  small  surplus  still  remains  for  the  use  of  the 
American  angling  fraternity.  We  generally  see  things 
through  our  own  eyes,  even  though  we  do  wear  specta- 
cles. 

Cast  follows  cast — a  rise — a  strike — and  back  comes 
the  line  once  more,  but  no  leader  follows  it. 

When  feeling  is  too  deep  for  utterance,  one  is  general- 
ly silent.  The  line  is  reeled  in  and  examined.  The  knot 
was  certainly  all  right ;  the  fault  could  not  be  in  the 
leader.  The  line  alone  remains ;  and  though  it  is  folly 
to  try  it  since  it  is  perfectly  new,  still  to  silence  John 
once  for  all,  let  us  test  it.     Throughout  its  whole  length 


78  Fly-rods  and  Fhj-tacTcle. 

of  forty  yards,  not  a  place  could  be  found  that  could  not 
be  broken  between  the  thumbs  and  fingers.  Though 
the  sky  was  cloudless,  the  sun  shone  no  more  for  me 
that  day.  The  wise  profit  by  the  misfortunes  of  their 
fellows. 


Leaders, 


79 


CHAPTER  IV. 


LEADERS. 


This  essential  to  the  angler's  outfit  is  composed  of  the 
silk  fluid  secreted  by  the  Chinese  variety  of  the  silk-worm. 
When  the  worms  cease  feeding,  and  a  filament  of  silk  is 
observed  hanging  from  the  mouth,  they  are  then  about 
to  begin  to  spin  their  cocoons,  within  which  to  await 
and  undergo  their  transformation  into  the  perfect  insect. 
On  observing  this  indication,  such  worms  as  are  to  be 
devoted  to  this  purpose  are  immersed  in  vinegar  for 
some  hours.  When  sufficiently  pickled  they  are  re- 
moved, seized  by  the  head  and  tail,  and  forcibly  torn 


Fig.  18.— Anatomy  of  the  Silk-worm :  ^  ^,  the  Silk  Sacks,  B  B,  the  Inteetlnes. 
(Prom  the  "  Encyclopsedia  Britannica.") 


apart.  Within  are  found  the  intestines,  which  then  re- 
semble boiled  spinach,  and  two  silk  sacks.  The  latter 
are  nearly  or  quite  twice  the  length  of  the  worm,  and 
lie  doubled  together  within  it.     The  diameter  of  the 


80  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

middle  of  these  may  be  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch, 
thence  gradually  tapering  to  a  point  at  both  ends.  The 
preserved  specimens,  the  only  ones  I  have  seen,  were 
translucent,  and  yellowish  in  color. 

Seizing  this  silk  sack  by  the  ends,  the  operator  tears 
it  apart,  stretching  the  contents  out  to  the  desired  length. 
These  harden  almost  at  once  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and 
the  gut  thus  produced  is  stretched  upon  a  piece  of  board 
to  dry. 

This  manufacture  is  carried  on  mainly  in  Spain,  by 
the  peasantry  at  their  own  homes,  one  producing  per- 
haps half  a  pound,  another  possibly  fifty,  according  to 
the  extent  of  the  mulberry  orchard  the  maker  may  pos- 
sess. With  the  remains  of  the  envelope  still  adhering  to 
the  dried  gut,  it  is  brought  in,  and  sold  to  the  factors. 

Their  first  step  is  to  free  the  gut  from  such  portions 
of  the  ruptured  envelope  as  may  adhere  to  it.  Former- 
ly this  was  done  by  drawing  the  gut  between  the  teeth, 
and  thus  stripping  off  this  refuse,  but  chemical  processes 
are  said  now  largely  to  have  superseded  this.  The  eye- 
witness, to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  this  information,  de- 
scribes the  old  method  as  a  most  disgusting  spectacle. 
The  rows  of  women  and  girls  drawing  the  entrails  of 
this  caterpillar  through  their  teeth,  their  mouths  smeared 
with  blood  from  the  cuts  inflicted  by  the  thin  gut,  min- 
gled with  the  offal  scraped  from  it  by  their  teeth — spit- 
ting and  drawing,  and  spitting  again — must  indeed  be 
far  from  a  pleasant  sight. 

I  would  much  rather  go  a-fishing. 

The  gut  is  then  sorted,  bundled,  and  marketed.  We 
derive  our  supply  largely  through  England,  whence  this 
business  is  controlled,  consuming  by  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  heavier  sizes  produced. 


Leaders,  91 

The  best  single  article  known  to  me  on  this  subject  is 
that  by  Mr.  Charles  F.  Imbrie,  in  the  "Annual  Cyclo- 
paedia," Appleton's,  volume  xiv.,  1889,  page  762. 

Mr.  Imbrie  assures  me  that  this  article  is  based  on 
personal  investigation  on  the  spot.  I  quote  an  abstract 
from  him,  as  follows  : 

"  The  province  of  Murcia,  Spain,  has  always  enjoyed 
a  practical  monopoly  of  the  manufacture  of  silk-worm 
gut.  Though  the  industry  is  small,  it  has  long  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  silk-culturists  all  over  the  world. 
Gut  is  still  made  in  Sicily  ;  but  the  quality  of  the  Sicil- 
ian product  is  invariably  poor,  and  as  it  can,  therefore, 
compete  only  with  the  very  lowest  grades  of  the  Span- 
ish article,  it  is  hardly  possible  that  there  can  ever  be  a 
profit  to  the  manufacturers.  Silk-culturists  in  China, 
Japan,  France,  Italy,  and  the  United  States  have  done 
their  best  to  produce  a  marketable  quality  of  silk-worm 
gut;  but  they  have  never  succeeded,  unless  the  fortui- 
tous manufacture  of  a  few  strands  of  a  fair  quality  can 
be  considered  success.  In  the  United  States,  China,  and 
Japan,  a  long,  heavy  gut  has  frequently  been  made ;  but 
in  no  instance  has  the  strand  had  the  tensile  power  of 
much  lighter  Spanish  gut.  The  numerous  and  invari- 
able failures  to  produce  a  good  quality  of  it  outside  of 
Murcia  force  the  conclusion  that  there  are  unique  con- 
ditions favorable  to  its  manufacture  there,  and  insur- 
mountable objections  to  manufacture  elsewhere." 

4c  in  in  in  if  •¥  if 

"  When  the  worms  are  quite  ready  to  spin,  not  an 
hour  before  or  after,  they  are  thrown  into  a  tub  half 
filled  with  a  strong  mixture  of  vinegar  and  water.  This 
kills  them  instantly.  They  are  left  in  this  pickle  about 
twelve  hours — generally  over  one  night.     This  gives  a 

6 


82  Fly-rods  and  Flyrtackle. 

consistency  to  the  silk-bags,  of  which  there  are  two  in 
each  worm.  The  next  morning  the  worms  are  taken  out 
of  pickle  and  broken  in  two,  cross-wise.  The  gut-sacs 
are,  with  a  little  experience,  easily  removed.  Each  of  the 
sacs  is  taken  at  either  end,  while  it  is  soft,  and  stretched 
as  far  as  it  will  go.  If  the  pickle  is  strong,  the  gut  is  to 
a  certain  extent  shorter  and  thicker  ;  if  it  is  weak,  the 
gut  is  longer  and  thinner.  If  it  is  too  strong,  the  gut 
pulls  out  crooked  and  lumpy  and  cracked  ;  if  it  is  too 
weak,  the  gut  has  not  enough  consistency  to  draw  out. 
When  the  gut  is  stretched  out  as  far  as  it  will  go,  it  is 
thrown  on  the  floor,  and  the  extreme  ends  almost  im- 
mediately curl  up.  The  gut  is  covered  with  a  thin  fila- 
ment called  carne^  or  flesh.  Towards  the  end  of  the  day 
the  gut  is  washed  in  pure  water  and  hung  up  where  a 
current  of  air  will  pass  through  and  dry  it.  When  it  is 
thoroughly  dry  the  strands  are  tied  in  bundles  of  from 
5000  to  10,000,  and  in  this  state  it  is  sold  by  weight  to 
those  who  prepare  it  for  the  market." 

Mr.  Imbrie  expresses  astonishment  at  the  little  atten- 
tion given  to  the  eggs  while  hatching,  and  at  the  lack 
of  what  silk-growers  elsewhere  would  consider  ordinary 
care  in  the  subsequent  development  of  the  worm.  Be- 
yond "not  sweeping  the  room  where  the  worms  are 
without  first  sprinkling  the  floor  to  lay  the  dust,  seeing 
that  the  leaves  are  fresh  and  are  never  allowed  to  fer- 
ment, not  using  the  same  baskets  to  bring  in  fresh 
leaves  as  those  that  are  used  to  carry  out  the  old  leaves," 
little  seems  to  be  done  except  to  secure  good  ventilation, 
avoid  excessive  changes  of  temperature,  and  for  the  first 
fourteen  days  cutting  the  mulberry  leaves  upon  which 
the  worms  are  fed  into  small  pieces  with  a  sharp,  and 
not  a  dull  knife,  since  a  dull  knife  bruises  the  cut  edges  of 


Leaders.  88 

the  leaves,  making  them  tough  and  distasteful.  The  cut- 
up  leaves  are  scattered  over  the  worms  which  crawl  up 
on  to  them,  following  in  this  their  natural  instinct  to 
ascend. 

They  are  given  all  the  food  they  will  eat.  Up  to 
the  time  they  are  ready  to  spin,  about  forty-two  days, 
their  life  is  divided  up  into  several  periods  of  extreme 
voracity,  alternating  with  torpor,  during  which  latter 
period  they  molt  and  refuse  to  feed  at  all. 

The  producers  are  all  small  farmers,  each  working  up 
independently  the  product  of  his  own  domain,  some 
turning  out  a  better  and  some  a  poorer  article  according 
to  individual  care  and  skill.  Every  year  buyers  come 
from  the  silk-manufacturing  centres  of  France  to  buy 
cocoons.  The  gut-buyers  appear  at  the  same  time,  one 
urging  the  farmers  to  market  their  crop  in  the  shape  of 
cocoons,  the  other  in  the  form  of  gut ;  and  the  one  who 
succeeds  best  in  persuading  the  producer  that  his  inter- 
est lies  in  dealing  with  him  gets  the  crop. 

Gut  is  named  in  the  trade  according  to  thickness,  as 
follows,  beginning  with  the  thinnest  :  Refina,  Fina, 
Regular,  Padrona  Second,  Padrona  First,  Marana,  Dou- 
ble Thick  Marana,  Imperial,  and  Hebra.  Flat,  irregular 
gut  is  known  as  Estriada.  Since  the  purchaser  from  the 
original  producer  buys  by  weight,  paying  the  same  price 
for  the  good,  the  bad,  and  the  indifferent,  it  is  no  easy 
matter  to  pre-estimate  the  prospective  profit  or  loss  on 
his  purchase.  The  larger  sizes  afford  a  large  profit, 
while  the  inferior  qualities  will  not  pay  cost ;  so,  after 
the  manner  of  merchants  in  all  trades  but  that,  if  any, 
to  which  my  reader  belongs,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  work 
off  the  Estriadas,  etc.,  by  smuggling  a  few  such  strands 
into  each  bundle  of  good  gut. 


84  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTcle, 

But  it  would  seem  there  are  silk- worms  native  to  this 
country,  from  which  gut  far  superior  in  every  way  to 
that  of  the  Chinese  worm  not  only  can  be,  but  actually 
has  been,  made. 

At  least  three  of  these  greatly  exceed  the  Chinese 
worm  in  size,  and  in  the  quantity  of  silk  they  secrete. 
That  they  have  not  attracted  the  attention  of  silk  manu- 
facturers to  a  greater  extent,  is  probably  due  to  the  dif- 
ficulty experienced  in  reeling  the  silk  from  the  cocoons, 
an  objection  which,  however  serious  it  may  be  to  him 
who  would  substitute  these  to  feed  machinery  adapted 
to  work  the  cocoons  of  the  Chinese  worm,  is  of  no 
weight  to  one  who  seeks  to  utilize  the  silk  sacks  of  the 
insect  prior  to  its  spinning — as  would  be  done  in  gut- 
manufacture. 

For  many  reasons,  that  worm  known  to  the  entomol- 
ogist as  the  Attacus  cecropia  is  most  worthy  of  our  at- 
tention. It  produces  the  largest  quantity  of  silk  of  any, 
and  that  of  great  strength.  Its  habitat  is  co-extensive 
with  the  United  States.  It  is  indifferent  to  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  our  climate,  and  will  flourish  anywhere  in  the 
open  air.  It  is  an  omnivorous  feeder — "  as  easy  to  raise 
to  maturity  as  young  ducks  or  chickens  " — and  finally 
from  it  gut  has  been  drawn  "  eight  and  nine  feet  long, 
and  strong  enough  to  hold  a  salmon  " — "  quite  round,  and 
all  an  angler  could  desire." 

I  am  largely  indebted  for  my  information  in  regard 
to  this  worm  to  Dr.  Theodatus  Garlick,  of  Bedford,  Ohio, 
justly  celebrated  as  the  father  offish-culture  in  this  coun- 
try, and  to  Dr.  E.  Sterling,  of  the  city  of  Cleveland  in 
the  same  State. 

The  former  gentleman,  from  a  bed  of  sickness  and 
pain,  in  his  eightieth  year,  responded   with  alacrity  to 


Leaders,  86 

my  inquiries  as  to  his  experience  in  producing  gut  from 
this  worm  —  at  the  expense  of  how  much  suffering  he 
only  knows.  It  is  but  another  example  of  his  well- 
known  public  spirit,  and  a  further  illustration,  if  any 
were  needed,  that  the  love  which  an  angler  bears  towards 
his  favorite  pursuit  fails  only  with  life  itself.  We  try 
in  vain  to  convey  to  the  uninitiated  a  conception  of  its 
charm  to  us ;  but  can  the  most  sceptical  refuse  to  con- 
cede that  there  must  be  something  in  a  matter  that  can 
excite  and  maintain  such  unimpaired  enthusiasm,  even 
when  face  to  face  with  the  Great  Unknown  ? 
Dr.  Garlick  writes  as  follows: 

"  Bedford,  Ohio,  Jvly  17, 1884. 
''Henry  P.  Wells,  Esq.  : 

"  Dear  Sir, — Your  letter  finds  me  very  sick,  and  I  at- 
tempt a  reply  lying  in  bed,  so  please  excuse  pencil. 

"  We  have  here  four  native  silk-worms — the  Attacics 
cecropia,  Attacus  prometheus^  Attacics  lu?ia,  and  the  Atta- 
cus  polyphemus. 

"  The  Attacus  cecropia  spins  by  far  the  largest  cocoon, 
and  is  the  one  I  used  in  drawing  the  long  silk  gut  from. 
The  worms  (larvae)  feed  on  the  leaves  of  several  kinds 
of  trees  and  shrubs.  In  swamps  is  found  a  shrub  known 
as  the  *  Button -ball  bush'  (Cephalanthus  occidentalis). 
Among  these  shrubs  I  have  found  the  cocoons  of  the 
A.  cecropia  in  great  abundance.  I  gather  the  cocoons 
in  the  fall  or  winter,  male  and  female,  the  cocoon  con- 
taining the  female  chrysalis  being  much  the  larger.  I 
keep  the  cocoons  in  a  cool  place  until  spring,  when  such 
trees  as  the  apple  and  plum  are  in  leaf,  on  the  leaves  of 
which  the  young  worms  will  feed.  The  plum  being  the 
best  for  them. 

"About  this  time  the  moths  leave  the  cocoons  and 


86  Fly -rods  and  Fly -tackle. 

mate.  After  they  have  mated  I  place  the  females  in 
large  paper  boxes,  in  which  they  lay  their  eggs,  which 
soon  hatch.  I  feed  the  young  larvae  on  tender  leaves  of 
the  plum-tree,  if  I  have  the  plum,  but  the  apple  or  pear 
will  answer.  After  they  grow  to  about  an  inch  long  I 
place  them  in  the  plum  or  apple  trees,  and  let  them  take 
their  chance  for  life  against  the  birds — of  course  I  keep 
a  sharp  watch  of  their  progress.  When  the  worm  be- 
gins to  spin  his  cocoon  is  the  right  time  to  draw  the  silk 
gut.  This  is  done  by  pinning  the  worm  on  a  board  and 
cutting  the  body  of  the  worm  off,  far  enough  back  from 
the  head  to  cut  a  little  off  the  two  silk  sacks  that  con- 
tain the  fluid  silk,  which  in  consistency  looks  like  the 
white  of  a  hen's  Qgg.  Into  this  fluid  silk  I  dip  a  largish 
pin,  drawing  it  more  or  less  slowly  until  the  silk  is  ex- 
hausted in  the  sacks ;  then  with  another  pin  I  fasten  the 
last  end  of  the  gut  to  the  board. 

"The  fluid  silk  hardens  immediately  as  it  comes  in 
contact  with  the  air.  The  size  of  the  gut  will  depend 
entirely  on  the  rapidity  with  which  the  gut  is  drawn — 
the  faster  it  is  drawn  the  smaller  will  be  the  gut. 

"  I  have  drawn  this  gut  eight  or  nine  feet  long,  and 
strong  enough  to  hold  a  salmon.  There  is  no  more  dif- 
ficulty in  drawing  this  gut  from  the  Attacus  cecropia, 
than  from  the  ordinary  silk- worm  {Bomhyx  mori).  The 
Attacus  prometheus  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  the  sassafras 
and  spice-bush,  and  makes  a  beautiful  silk. 

"  Very  respectfully,  T.  Gaelick." 

'*  Bedford,  Ohio,  July  23, 1884. 
''Henry  P,  WettSyEsq.: 

"Dear  Sir, — Your  favor  of  the  19th  is  read,  and  as 
usual  finds  me  a  great  sufferer.     You  are  at  liberty  to 


Leaders.  07 

use  any  portion  or  the  whole  of  my  letters  on  the  sub- 
ject of  drawing  silk  gut  from  our  native  silk-worms.  I 
do  nothing  to  the  worm  previous  to  drawing  the  gut, 
except  to  pin  it  to  a  long  board  in  order  to  prevent  it 
from  squirming — pin  it  at  both  ends.  I  cannot  tell  you 
exactly  at  what  spot  or  point  to  cut  the  worm,  in  order 
to  cut  the  silk  sacks  at  the  best  point,  and  would  ad- 
vise you  make  a  careful  dissection  (a  vivisection)  of  the 
worm,  in  order  to  find  the  best  point  to  cut  the  silk 
sacks,  which  should  not  be  where  the  sacks  are  the 
largest,  but  sufficiently  large  to  allow  a  sufficient  flow 
of  the  fluid  silk  to  make  the  gut  of  the  right  size.  Of 
course  it  requires  a  much  longer  time  for  as  large  a  fibre 
as  gut  to  harden  and  become  silk,  than  the  fine  fibre,  as 
spun  by  the  worm,  which  is  instantaneous.  If  you  will 
examine  the  floss  silk  between  the  outer  and  inner  shell 
of  the  cocoon  of  the  Attacus  cecropia,  you  will  find  that 
fibre  a  strong  silk — provided  the  cocoon  is  not  an  old 
weather-beaten  one.  I  should  think  you  might  find  on 
Long  Island  both  the  Attacus  prometheus  and  the  At- 
tacus cecropia  —  the  former  on  the  spice -bush  or  sas- 
safras ;  the  latter  on  the  button  -  ball  bush,  so  called, 
which  grows  in  swampy  places.  The  silk  of  the  Prome- 
theus is  of  the  finest  and  strongest  quality,  but  not  near 
as  large  as  the  cocoons  of  the  Attacus  cecropia.  If  the 
silk  of  the  Attacus  cecropia  is  strong,  why  should  not 
the  gut  be  strong? 

"Last  year  there  were  a  few  Cecropias  that  fed  and 
spun  on  my  pear-trees.  I  wish  now  that  I  had  drawn 
some  gut  from  them,  which  I  would  have  cheerfully  sent 
to  you,  but  I  wanted  the  moths  to  put  up  with  other  in- 
sects, and  let  them  spin  their  cocoons  on  my  pear-trees. 
If  I  find  any  this  year  I  will,  if  alive  and  well  enough, 


88  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

try  and  draw  some  gut,  but  fear  I  shall  not  be  able,  even 
if  alive  and  I  find  the  worms,  to  draw  the  gut — for  I  am 
now  well  into  my  eightieth  year,  and  expect  and  hope  to 
leave  soon.     With  kind  wishes, 

"  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

"T.  Garlick."* 

In  other  communications  Dr.  Garlick  states :  "  I  vent- 
ure the  assertion  that  the  fibre  of  the  Attacus  cecropia 
is  as  strong  as  that  of  the  B.  mori  (common  silk-worm) 
by  actual  test.  I  have  drawn  gut  from  both  of  these 
silk-worms,  and  encountered  no  difficulty  with  either. 
Dr.  Sterling,  of  Cleveland,  saw  the  gut  I  drew  from  the 
A.  cecropia.  I  never  place  the  worm  in  vinegar  prior 
to  drawing  the  gut ;  I  should  as  soon  think  of  placing 
it  in  concentrated  sulphuric  acid.  I  follow  nature  as  near 
as  possible,  and  draw  the  gut  from  the  living  worm." 

Dr.  Sterling  confirms  this,  if  confirmation  of  any  state- 
ment made  by  Dr.  Garlick  be  not  superfluous.  He 
writes  me,  "the  gut  so  drawn  from  the  Cecropia  was 
quite  round,  and  all  an  angler  could  desire."  He  fur- 
ther says  that  the  cocoons  can  be  obtained  in  any  quan- 
tity in  the  thickets  of  the  water  sycamore  which  line  the 
swamps  and  lagoons  of  Northern  Ohio,  and  that  he  has 
gathered  half  a  bushel  in  half  an  hour. 

The  ordinary  silk-wonn  (B.  mori)  is  large  if  three 
inches  long  and  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter ; 
while  Dr.  Sterling  says,  "  I  have  seen  it  (the  Cecropia) 
over  four  inches  long,  and  as  thick  as  a  working-man's 
thumb."     When  it  is  remembered  that  this  bulk  is  main- 

*  Dr.  Garlick  died  December  9th,  1884,  universally  respected  and  re- 
gretted, and  leaving  behind  him  that  most  enviable  of  records — his 
country  is  the  better  for  his  having  lived. 


Leaders.  89 

ly  due  to  the  silk  secreted  within  the  worm,  and  the 
strength  of  that  silk  being  universally  admitted,  its  great 
superiority  to  the  B.  mori  for  our  purpose  seems  to  be 
beyond  question.  In  "  On  Insects  Injurious  to  Vegeta- 
tion," by  F.  W.  Harris  (Orange  Judd  Publishing  Co., 
New  York,  1863),  he  says,  "as  a  worm  for  quantity  and 
durability  of  silk  the  Cecropia  has  so  far  no  equal." 

The  worm  is  apple-green  in  color,  darker  below  and 
lighter  on  the  back.  Its  skin  is  smooth,  except  for  six 
longitudinal  ranks  of  fleshy  tubercles,  two  on  each  side 
and  two  on  the  back.  Those  on  the  sides  are  smaller, 
cylindrical,  and  blue  in  color.  On  the  back  the  tubercles 
are  larger  and  yellow,  except  those  on  the  three  segments 
nearest  the  head.  The  latter  are  larger  still,  red  in  color, 
with  small  black  spots,  and  shaped  like  a  cabbage  head 
— that  is,  as  though  fleshy  excrescences,  about  the  size 
and  shape  of  a  No.  1  shot,  were  joined  to  the  body  by  a 
fleshy  neck.  A  single  tubercle  similar  in  size  and  form, 
and  yellow  in  color,  is  attached  to  the  middle  of  the 
back  near  the  tail.  It  is  the  only  tubercle  on  the  median 
line  of  the  back. 

The  foregoing,  it  is  hoped,  will  answer  for  purposes  of 
identification,  but  those  desiring  further  information  can 
find  colored  illustrations  of  both  worm  and  moth  (as 
well  as  of  those  hereinafter  mentioned,  with  one  excep- 
tion) in  vol.  xxxii.  of  the  Naturalist's  Library  (Henry 
G.  Bohn,  publisher,  York  Street,  Covent  Garden,  London). 
The  references  will  be  found  on  page  132,  and  the  pages 
following.  The  Cecropian  worm  is  therein  called  the 
"  Hyalophora  cecropia."  A  description  can  also  be  found 
in  "  On  Insects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,"  heretofore  al- 
luded to,  and  in  "  The  Lepidoptera  of  North  America " 
{Smithsonian  Institution,  1862). 


90  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJde, 

The  Attacus  prometheus  (described  and  figured  on 
p.  134,  vol.  xxxii.  of  the  Naturalises  Library)  is  another 
native  worm  adapted  to  our  purpose,  and  next  in  point  of 
size  to  the  Cecropia.  In  range  it  is  as  extensive  as  the 
Cecropia.  It  is  not  quite  so  omnivorous  in  its  appetite, 
feeding  on  the  sassafras  {Lauras  sassafras)^  the  spice-bush 
(X.  benzoin),  and  the  swamp  button-ball  bush  (Cephalan- 
thus  occidentalis) .  It  is  green  in  color,  with  yellow  feet; 
"each  segment  of  the  body,  except  the  posterior,  is 
marked  with  six  blue  spots,  from  which  arise  small  black 
tubercles ;  in  the  second  and  third  segments,  however, 
the  two  centre  tubercles  are  replaced  by  club-like  pro- 
jections of  a  third  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  of  a  bright 
coral  red  color.  The  last  segment  is  furnished  with  but 
five  tubercles,  the  central  one  of  which  is  of  the  same 
clavate  form  as  the  anterior  segments,  but  is  of  a  fine 
yellow  color."  Dr.  Garlick  says,  "These  cocoons  can 
be  collected  in  great  numbers  where  the  sassafras  and 
spice-bush  are  abundant,  as  it  is  in  this  region  [Cleve- 
land, Ohio].  Silk  can  be  drawn  from  this  worm  from 
three  to  four  feet  long,  and  strong  enough  for  salmon- 
fishing,  of  the  very  best  quality." 

The  Attacus  polyphemus  is  another  native  silk- worm 
worthy  of  attention.  It  is  not  described  in  the  JVat- 
uralisfs  Library,  but  three  exhaustive  papers  on  its  nat- 
ural history  and  cultivation,  by  L.  Trouvelot,  may  be 
found  in  vol.  i.  of  the  American  Naturalist,  pp.  30,  85, 
145.  Mr.  Trouvelot  says  in  substance,  the  worm  is  over 
three  inches  long  and  very  thick.  It  is  extremely  hardy, 
and  will  endure  with  impunity  any  temperature,  even 
below  the  zero  of  Fahrenheit.  It  feeds  equally  well  on 
the  different  species  of  oaks,  maples,  willows,  poplars, 
elms,  hazels,  birches,  blueberry,  and   other  plants,  with- 


Leaders,  91 

out  affecting  the  quality  of  the  silk.  "  The  silk  in  the 
reservoirs  is  sometimes  used  in  commerce,  being  sold 
under  the  name  of  gut.  The  process  of  obtaining  the 
gut  is  very  simple  ;  it  consists  in  preparing  worms  ready 
to  spin  by  putting  them  in  strong  vinegar  for  eighteen 
hours ;  a  transverse  opening  is  then  carefully  made  on 
the  under-side  and  about  the  middle  of  the  body,  taking 
care  not  to  injure  the  silk  reservoirs,  which  are  very  dis- 
tinct. The  glands  or  reservoirs  are  then  taken  out  and 
stretched  parallel  to  each  other  on  a  board,  and  dried 
in  the  shade  for  several  days."  It  will  yield  gut  twenty- 
five  inches  long. 

The  Satumia  cynthia,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
the  Samia  eynthia,  though  a  native  of  Japan,  has  be- 
come acclimated,  and  is  sometimes  found  wild  in  this 
country  on  the  ailanthus-tree.  This  is  its  favorite  food, 
hence  it  is  sometimes  called  the  ailanthus  silk- worm.  An 
excellent  paper  on  its  natural  history  and  cultivation,  by 
W.  V.  Andrews,  may  be  found  on  page  311,  vol.  ii.,  of 
the  American  Naturalist.  A  colored  illustration  of  both 
worm  and  moth  may  be  found  on  page  149,  vol.  xxxii.,  of 
the  Naturalist^ s  Library y  heretofore  alluded  to.  From 
its  silk  is  made  a  "  seemingly  loose  texture,  but  of  in- 
credible durability,  the  life  of  one  person  being  seldom 
sufficient  to  wear  out  a  garment  made  of  it." 

We  all  know  how  prolific  and  how  rapid  is  the  growth 
of  the  ailanthus,  springing  from  a  stub  to  considerable 
height  in  a  single  season,  and  this  on  the  poorest  soils. 
This  worm  is  not  a  wanderer,  but  remains  on  the  tree 
on  which  it  is  placed  as  long  as  its  food  lasts.  It  is  ex- 
tremely hardy.  Two  broods  a  year  may  be  raised.  I 
am  not  informed  as  to  the  length  of  gut  which  may  be 
drawn  from  it,  but  its  greatly  superior  size  indicates  that 


92  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taclde. 

it  must  far  excel  the  ordinary  silk-worm  (B.  mori)  in 
this  respect.  No  special  facilities  seem  necessary.  The 
ailanthus  can  be  raised  with  the  greatest  ease  anywhere, 
and  by  pruning  can  be  forced  to  assume  and  retain  a 
low  growth,  so  as  to  be  readily  accessible  by  the  cultiva- 
tor to  facilitate  the  care  of  the  worm.  It  can  thus  be 
easily  raised  in  the  open  air. 

Undoubtedly  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture  at  Washington  would  elicit  not  only  any 
further  information  which  might  be  desired,  but  also 
substantial  aid  by  furnishing  eggs  or  cocoons  of  any  of 
the  species  hereinbefore  mentioned,  since  this  depart- 
ment of  the  Government  is  now  exerting  itself  to  foster 
silk-culture  in  this  country. 

I  have  entered  into  this  subject  somewhat  at  length,  in 
the  hope  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention  to  it, 
to  insure  before  long  a  supply  of  domestic  gut  far  supe- 
rior to  that  we  are  now  forced  to  put  up  with.  At  pres- 
ent we  are  compelled  to  depend  on  Spanish  gut.  At 
least  twenty  per  cent,  of  this  is  imperfect,  with  hardly 
any  two  strands  of  the  same  thickness,  and  seldom  ex- 
ceeding fifteen  inches  in  length.  If  we  may  judge  from 
the  past,  with  American  ingenuity  to  conduct  this  man- 
ufacture, soon  the  angler  would  be  able  to  order  gut  of 
a  certain  number,  and  receive  an  article  perfectly  round, 
of  any  desired  length,  and  each  strand  of  uniform  thick- 
ness from  one  end  to  the  other;  the  number  as  invaria- 
bly indicating  the  diameter  as  a  like  designation  now  in- 
dicates that  of  metal  wire. 

In  rods,  reels,  and  lines  we  lead  the  world ;  why  not 
in  this  as  well? 

But  another  consideration  suggests  itself,  of  greater 
moment  than  an  improvement  in  the  art  we  love  so  much. 


Leaders,  99 

To  successfully  rear  the  ordinary  silk-worm,  patience 
and  capital  must  first  be  expended  in  cultivating  the 
mulberry  required  for  its  food.  Again,  like  all  animals 
long  domesticated,  it  has  as  many  diseases  as  a  horse, 
and  the  most  unremitting  attention  is  required  lest  both 
crop  and  stock  be  a  total  failure. 

Already  the  reader  will  have  noticed  that  the  food  of 
all  the  worms  to  which  his  attention  has  been  called  is 
ready  to  hand,  and  also  that  they  are  very  hardy.  To 
collect  the  cocoons  for  a  new  crop,  to  care  for  the  eggs 
for  a  few  days  until  they  hatch,  and  to  feed  the  young 
until  they  are  an  inch  or  so  long,  is  all  that  is  required; 
then  they  can  be  transferred  to  the  trees,  and  left  with 
safety  to  the  care  of  Nature.  About  twenty-five  days 
after  hatching  they  must  be  watched,  and  those  ready 
to  spin  selected,  pickled,  and  drawn,  allowing  enough  to 
form  their  cocoons  to  produce  seed  for  the  next  crop. 

Here  is  a  new  and  lucrative  industry,  eminently  adapt- 
ed to  those  who,  from  sex  or  other  causes,  are  unfitted 
for  severe  manual  labor,  yet  whose  necessities  compel 
them  to  do  something.  Here  is  a  boon  to  the  female 
population  of  our  rural  districts,  to  whom  not  energy  nor 
industry,  but  only  the  opportunity  to  provide  for  them- 
selves, IS  wanting.  No  fear  of  over-production  need  be 
felt,  for  the  worms  may  be  allowed  to  spin  their  cocoons, 
and  if  they  cannot  be  unreeled  and  made  into  goods  as 
fine  as  those  from  the  cocoons  of  the  ordinary  silk-worm 
— which  is  by  no  means  certain — at  all  events  they  can 
be  carded,  spun,  and  woven  into  an  excellent,  durable, 
and  desirable  fabric.  If  the  raw  material  can  be  had 
in  any  quantity,  no  fear  need  be  entertained  in  this 
country  that  it  will  not  be  utilized. 

As  to  making  the  gut,  who  will  claim  that  a  manufact- 


94  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

ure  which  is  within  the  scope  of  the  ignorant  peasantry 
of  Spain,  is  beyond  the  intelligence  of  our  agricultural 
population  ?  Failure  may  attend  a  first  effort,  but  ex- 
periment will  cost  nothing,  and  success  will  surely  fol- 
low perseverance.  It  is  possible  that  a  method  of  sizing 
and  rounding  the  gut  might  be  devised,  such  as  drawing 
it  through  a  "  draw-plate,"  either  directly  from  the  silk 
sack  or  subsequently  to  that  step,  by  which  roundness 
and  uniformity  might  be  secured  automatically,  and  by 
the  most  unskilled.  A  beginning  is  but  necessary,  and 
American  ingenuity  will  soon  elaborate  the  best  method 
of  manipulation. 

A  recent  communication  from  Dr.  Garlick  reads  as 
follows: 

"  Bedford,  Ohio,  August  27, 1884. 
"  Henry  P.  Wells,  Esq.  : 

"Dear  Sir, — I  have  been  trying  to  guess  why  it  is 
that  some  have  failed  to  draw  good  gut  from  the  A.  ce- 
cropia.  It  has  occurred  to  my  mind  that  possibly  they 
may  have  divided  the  worm  too  far  back  from  the  head, 
thus  dividing  the  silk  sacks  at  a  point  where  they  are 
too  large  to  allow  the  fluid  silk  to  flow  just  fast  enough 
to  make  the  gut  of  the  right  size,  also  uniform  in  size. 

"You  are  probably  aware  that  if  the  spinnerets  of 
the  worm  were  larger  than  what  they  are,  the  fibre  of 
the  cocoon  would  be  very  much  larger  than  what  it  is. 

"  It  has  also  occurred  to  me  that  dividing  the  worm 
too  far  back,  the  fluid  silk  may  have  been  mixed  with 
other  fluids  of  the  worm,  thus  impairing  the  strength  of 
the  gut.  Very  truly  yours, 

"T.  Garlick." 

Drawn  gut  may  now  be  had  it  is  true,  but  it  is  con- 
fined to  the  very  thinnest  kinds.     It  is  produced  in  Eng- 


Leaders.  95 

land  and  Scotland  by  redrawing  imported  gut.  This 
impairs  the  strength,  and  renders  the  gut  prone  to  fray 
and  become  ragged  ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  takes  dye 
much  better  and  with  a  much  more  lustreless  surface,  a 
feature  of  great  value.  Still,  its  excessive  thinness  is 
unsuited  to  most  of  the  requirements  of  the  American 
angler. 

That  the  hope  of  1884,  hereinbefore  expressed,  should 
in  1900  be  still  but  a  hope  will  doubtless  appear  to  some 
strong  confirmation  of  Mr.  Imbrie's  view,  that  "the 
numerous  and  invariable  failures  to  produce  a  good  qual- 
ity of  it  outside  of  Murcia  force  the  conclusion  that 
there  are  unique  conditions  favorable  to  its  manufacture 
there,  and  insurmountable  objections  to  its  manufacture 
elsewhere."  Further,  I  must  admit  that  the  some  half- 
dozen  attempts  to  make  good  gut  from  our  native  silk- 
worms which  have  come  to  my  knowledge  since  the 
subject  was  discussed  in  my  first  edition,  have  been  in 
every  case  abortive.  The  resulting  product  was  invari- 
ably fatally  deficient  in  strength. 

Yet  I  believe  no  scientific  man  accustomed  to  original 
investigation  and  experiment,  who  considered  what  has 
been  done  and  what  is  desired  to  be  done  in  this  matter, 
would  find  therein  just  cause  even  for  discouragement. 
That  what  has  been  done  can  be  done  again,  would  suflfi- 
ciently  answer  every  doubt.  There  can  be  no  more  doubt 
that  long,  strong,  and  in  every  way  serviceable  gut  has 
been  drawn  from  our  native  silk-worms,  than  that  pow 
der  was  burned  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  To  ques- 
tion the  truth  of  facts  vouched  for  as  of  their  own  per- 
sonal doing  by  such  men  as  Drs.  Garlick  and  Sterling 
is  the  very  lunacy  of  scepticism.  There  is  other  and  in- 
dependent testimony  to  the  same  effect,  as,  for  example. 


96  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

Mr.  C.  F.  Orvis  states  in  the  interesting  article  in  which 
he  describes  his  own  efforts  to  make  gut,  published  in 
volume  xxvii.  of  the  Forest  and  Stream,  December  16, 
1886,  page  407  : 

"  I  have  in  my  possession  a  round,  perfect  strand  of 
gut  which  is  now  six  feet  long,  and  a  piece  has  been 
broken  from  it ;  it  is  large  and  strong.  It  was  given  to 
a  friend  of  mine  by  an  old  fisherman  of  New  York  City, 
Peter  McMartin,  who  told  us  at  the  time  that  'it  was 
drawn  from  some  big  silk-worms  by  a  man  in  New  Jer- 
sey.' This  was  years  ago,  more  than  twenty,  before  I 
had  thought  of  investigating  for  myself." 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Orvis  I  have  inspected 
this  sample  of  gut.  It  was  six  feet  and  one  inch  in 
length,  badly  drawn  in  that  it  was  hardly  anywhere 
round,  rather  thicker  at  one  end  than  the  other,  of  the 
average  diameter  of  a  rather  heavy  black-bass  leader, 
and  quite  yellow  in  color.  As  Mr.  Orvis  states,  a  piece 
had  obviously  been  broken  from  the  thinner  end.  Though 
it  was  something  like  forty  years  old,  I  could  not  break 
that  end  with  my  bare  hands. 

We  are  dealing  in  this  case  with  inert  matter  as 
affected  by  the  laws  of  nature.  Neither  individual  ca- 
price, obstinacy,  or  ill-will  are  factors  in  the  problem. 
Given  the  same  conditions,  and  the  same  result  must 
surely  follow.  Throw  a  man  out  of  the  window,  and  he 
falls  towards  the  ground  whether  it  be  a  Sunday  or  a 
working  day,  whether  it  be  New  Year's  day  or  the 
Fourth  of  July.  Natural  laws  know  no  sleep.  It  may 
be  difficult  to  restore  the  original  conditions,  or  to 
determine  what  those  conditions  were,  or  which  of 
them  are  essential  conditions  ;  but  this  is  within  the 
domain   of   experiment,  a   domain   which   intelligent, 


Leaders.  97 

systematic,  and  persistent  experiment  seldom  invades  in 
vain. 

Nor  do  I  think  we  should  have  to  seek  long  to  find 
probable  cause  for  these  failures.  In  the  first  place,  a 
single  experiment  is  nothing,  since  it  is  a  mathematical 
certainty  that  in  a  doubtful  case  the  chances  are  very 
many  to  one  that  but  a  negative  result  will  be  obtained. 
Not  that  a  negative  result  is  by  any  means  valueless, 
since  it  narrows  the  field  for  investigation.  The  same 
is  true  of  two  or  three,  or  of  a  few  experiments,  partic- 
ularly if  conducted  in  a  hap-hazard  manner,  or  with  little 
reflection  ;  or  in  the  endeavor  to  carry  out  an  old  proc- 
ess, the  essential  details  of  which  are  ill  understood  or 
unknown,  and  must  be  guessed  at. 

This  disposes  of  all  the  experiments  I  know  of,  my 
own  included,  except  those  of  Mr.  Orvis  described  in 
the  article  mentioned  above,  which,  though  inconclusive, 
were  of  a  much  higher  character.  It  would  have  been 
an  uncommon  fluke  of  good  fortune  had  success  attend- 
ed any  of  these  experiments  but  his  ;  and,  as  to  his,  he 
himself  attributes  his  failure,  not  to  impossibility,  but  to 
adverse  conditions  inherent  in  his  environment. 

Again,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  every  case  within  my 
knowledge,  Mr.  Orvis's  included,  every  one  tried  to  fol- 
low what  they  understood  to  be  the  Spanish  process. 
They  all  pickled  their  worms.  Not  one  of  them  tried 
the  simple  method  which  Dr.  Garlick  described  in 
his  letters,  printed  on  pages  88  and  94  of  this  book,  as 
that  by  which  he  succeeded. 

The  Spanish  process,  as  described,  calls  for  the  im- 
mersion of  the  worms  in  "  strong  vinegar  "  (lire's  "  Dic- 
tionary of  Arts  and  Sciences"),  "a  strong  mixture  of 
vinegar  and  water  "  (Imbrie).    Other  authorities  use  sub- 

7 


96  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

stantially  the  same  phraseology.  Mr.  Imbrie,  by  far  the 
most  specific  of  any  of  the  writers  I  have  been  able  to 
discover,  says  unequivocally  that  success  depends  upon 
the  proper  strength  of  the  pickle.  "  If  it  is  too  strong, 
the  gut  pulls  out  crooked,  lumpy,  and  cracked ;  if  it  is 
too  weak,  the  gut  has  not  enough  consistency  to  draw 
out." 

Now  what  is  "  strong  vinegar,"  or  "  a  strong  mixture 
of  vinegar  and  water  "  ?  Vinegar  is  dilute  acetic  acid  ; 
and  the  quantity  of  acetic  acid  the  vinegar  contains  de- 
pends upon  the  amount  of  sugar  the  parent  liquid  con- 
tained which  is  converted  into  acetic  acid  by  fermenta- 
tion. This  sugar  has  the  formula  CgHigOg.  The  reac- 
tion is  :  (sugar)  CgHigOg,  on  fermentation  is  converted 
into  2C2H6O,  (alcohol)  +  2 CO2,  (carbonic  acid),  which 
passes  off  as  a  gas  ;  the  alcohol  is  then  oxidized  into 
acetic  acid,  C2H4O2,  by  further  fermentation,  a  molecule 
of  water,  HgO,  splitting  off.  "  Strong  vinegar  "  is  there- 
fore a  very  indefinite  term.  Ordinary  vinegar  contains 
anywhere  from  two  to  six  or  seven  per  cent,  of  acetic 
acid,  more  bite  being  sometimes  given  to  the  weaker 
sorts  by  a  dash  of  sulphuric  acid. 

Mr.  Imbrie  informs  me  that  he  tasted  the  Murcia 
pickle  when  ready  for  use,  and  that  it  was  then  quite  as 
strong  as  any  table  vinegar  he  had  known  to  be  used  in 
this  country. 

The  upshot  of  all  this  is  that  it  would  seem  advisable 
for  the  experimenter  who  proposes  to  try  the  pickling 
method  to  get  the  best  vinegar  he  can,  which  will  proba- 
bly be  cider  vinegar  in  this  country  ;  to  try  a  number  of 
experiments  side  by  side — for  example,  pure  vinegar,  same 
plus  one-quarter  water,  same  plus  one-half  water,  and 
same  plus  three-quarters  water.   Also,  to  vary  the  times 


Leaders.  99 

of  exposure  in  the  pickle.  Also  to  save  time  by  running 
these  experiments  simultaneously  side  by  side,  number- 
ing each  experiment ;  and  under  that  number  keeping  a 
written  record  of  just  what  it  is  and  its  results.  The 
notes  should  be  made  at  the  time  of  the  observation,  and 
not  later  from  memory,  since  memory  is  treacherous,  and 
it  is  of  the  first  importance  to  be  sure  of  one's  ground 
when  later  the  effort  is  made  to  collate  and  compare 
these  notes  and  deduce  sound  conclusions  from  them. 
At  all  events,  that  is  substantially  the  way  that  a  pro- 
fessional experimenter  would  do. 

Also,  Dr.  Garlick's  method  of  drawing  the  gut  from 
the  living  worm,  as  hereinbefore  described,  should  cer- 
tainly be  tried.  The  pickling  method  has  its  advantages 
as  a  commercial  process,  if  it  can  be  made  to  work,  since 
if  any  number  of  worms  are  ripe  at  the  same  moment, 
all  can  then  be  at  once  pickled  ;  whereas,  of  course,  all 
could  not  be  operated  on  after  Dr.  Garlick's  method  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  and  some  of  the  worms  might 
actually  begin  to  spin  before  their  turn  came.  This 
may  have  been  a  reason  why  the  pickling  method  was 
first  adopted.  Mr.  Orvis's  article,  hereinbefore  referred 
to,  should  be  carefully  read  by  all  who  newly  enter 
this  field.  While  he  did  not  succeed  in  producing  per- 
fect gut,  he  did  succeed  without  difficulty  in  raising 
worms  four  and  a  half  inches  long,  and  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  What  he  says  of  their  care  and 
culture  cannot  fail  to  be  profitable. 

I  feel  as  confident  that  success  can  be  attained  by  the 
pickling  method,  as  that  it  cannot  be  attained  without  first 
discovering  by  experiment  the  conditions  upon  which 
success  depends.  Nor  in  expressing  this  confidence  am 
I  at  all  influenced  by  my  wishes.     In  a  somewhat  long 


100  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

and  busy  professional  life  I  have  seen  many  mechanical, 
chemical,  and  mixed  problems  arise,  have  watched  their 
investigation,  and  witnessed  their  solution  —  problems 
compared  with  which  this  one  under  consideration  seems 
very  simple.  Had  I  but  the  necessary  leisure  and  en- 
vironment nothing  would  please  me  more  than  to  under- 
take the  matter  myself.  But  since  this  cannot  be,  per- 
haps I  may  incite  to  the  attempt  others  having  the  same 
inclination  who  may  be  more  advantageously  circum- 
stanced. Could  I  make  the  attempt,  I  should  follow  the 
path  I  have  seen  lead  to  success  in  similar  investigations. 
I  should  master  the  literature  of  silk-worm  culture  as 
given  in  the  encyclopaedias  and  dictionaries  of  the 
arts,  etc.,  Mr.  Orvis's  article  hereinbefore  mentioned, 
and  all  other  published  information  to  which  I  could 
gain  access;  not  so  much  with  intent  to  follow  slavishly 
anything  therein  contained,  as  that  in  case  of  difficulty 
some  suggestion  might  be  found  to  aid  in  its  solution. 
Then  I  should  experiment,  and  experiment,  and  experi- 
ment, expecting  repeated  failure  while  confident  of  ulti- 
mate success — carefully  observing  and  noting  every 
result  and  indication  obtained,  whether  favorable  or 
unfavorable  ;  and  all  the  time  keeping  my  results  under 
the  dasher  of  the  mental  churn  to  separate  the  butter 
from  the  skim-milk,  and  learn  what  to.  try  next.  The 
game  of  twenty  questions  would  be  my  model.  The 
start  might  be  quite  wide  of  the  mark.  But  by  a  grad- 
ual process  of  elimination  the  range  of  inquiry  would 
constantly  narrow,  till  at  last  I  feel  confident  in  the 
residue  would  be  found  what  was  sought. 

Side  by  side  with  the  pickling  method  that  of  Dr. 
Garlick  should  be  tried  exactly  as  he  prescribes,  and 
also  with  variations.     His  method  of  drawing  the  gut 


Leaders,  lOi 

from  the  living  worm  is  not  very  attractive  to  a  hu- 
mane person.  Perhaps  this  vivisection  may  be  unnec- 
essary. Many  ways  of  killing  insects  other  than  by 
immersion  in  vinegar  are  practised  by  entomologists. 
Momentary  immersion  in  boiling  water  or  exposure  to 
the  vapor  of  chloroform,  ether,  alcohol,  or  ammonia, 
might  be  tried,  the  liquid  being  placed  in  a  flat  dish  rest- 
ing on  the  bottom  of  a  box,  the  worms  on  a  wire-gauze 
raised  tray,  and  the  box  closed.  But  even  if  Dr.  Gar- 
lick's  method,  pure  and  simple,  were  the  only  available 
method,  still  there  is  money  in  its  success.  I  have  paid 
as  high  as  five  dollars  for  a  really  phenomenal  salmon 
leader  nine  feet  long,  and  found  the  apparent  extrava- 
gance an  actual  economy. 

Whether  the  scrap-basket  is  not  the  proper  place  for 
the  foregoing  rather  than  this  book,  seems  doubtful. 
Either  it  will  tend  to  the  establishment  of  this  industry 
in  this  country,  or  it  will  not.  If  it  will  not,  it  is  a  clear 
waste  of  good  paper  and  ink.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it 
does,  then  such  value  as  it  may  have  had  is  at  an  end 
from  the  moment  the  industry  is  established.  Conceding 
for  the  sake  of  argument  that  what  I  have  written  on 
this  subject  is  worth  printing,  even  then  is  not  its  proper 
place  something  more  ephemeral  than  a  bound  volume  ? 

The  yawning  mouth  of  the  scrap-basket,  though  mute, 
makes  strong  appeal.  But  think  what  a  boon  such  gut 
as  it  seems  certain  has  been  drawn  from  our  native  silk- 
worms would  be  to  the  angling  fraternity  of  this  coun- 
try— indeed,  of  the  world — if  it  could  be  had  when 
wanted.  The  advantage  that  the  cultivation  of  this 
now  useless  worm,  and  its  conversion  into  a  merchanta- 
ble product,  would  be  to  our  rural  population — requiring 
little  or  no  capital,  and  so  well  adapted  as  a  field  of  in- 


102  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTde, 

dustry  to  those  incapable  of  severe  manual  labor — has 
been  already  dwelt  on. 

One  thing  is  absolutely  certain,  and  that  is,  if  gut  can 
be  produced  from  our  native  silk -worms  which  will 
equal  in  strength  that  we  now  use,  diameter  for  diame- 
ter, the  Spanish  gut  could  not  compete  with  it  for  a 
moment.  The  great  length  of  strand  of  the  native  gut, 
so  many  times  that  of  the  longest  Spanish  gut,  must 
give  ours  the  preference  here  and  abroad.  But  upon 
this  question  of  strength  there  seems  small  room  for 
doubt.  All  authorities  agree  that  the  silk  in  the  co- 
coon of  the  Cecropia  worm  is  of  great  strength.  Dr. 
Garlick's  query,  "If  the  silk  of  the  Attacus  Cecropia 
is  strong,  why  should  not  the  gut  be  strong  ?"  would 
appear  to  admit  of  but  one  reasonable  answer.  If  the 
silk  is  strong,  it  is  strong,  seems  a  proposition  affording 
scanty  room  for  debate.  But  even  assuming  it  to  be 
somewhat  inferior  to  that  of  the  Chinese  moth  in 
strength,  still  we  ought  to  capture  the  market  in  the 
thicker  grades,  since  in  those  grades  a  very  slight  in- 
crease in  diameter  involves  a  large  proportionate  increase 
of  material,  which  should  more  than  make  good  any 
moderate  difference  in  relative  strength. 

Influenced  by  these  considerations,  I  have  at  last  con- 
cluded to  ignore  the  scrap  -  basket.  Should  in  the 
future  this  industry  be  established  in  this  country,  as  I 
have  no  doubt  that  sooner  or  later  it  will  be,  and  what 
I  have  written  on  the  subject  become  stale  and  unprofit- 
able, I  trust  my  then  readers  will  remember  that  what 
is  an  old  story  to  them  was  still  a  possibility  of  the 
future  to  me.  No  just  judgment  of  any  fact  is  possi- 
ble if  attendant  circumstances  are  ignored.  We  should 
hold  him  mad  who  attempted  to  swim  on  dry  land  or 


Leaders,  108 

walk  on  the  water  ;  and  equally  mad  should  he  do,  or  re- 
frain from  doing,  either  in  its  appropriate  place  if  the 
need  of  action  was  urgent. 

No  other  angling  appliance  is  more  difficult  to  judge 
from  inspection  than  gut  while  in  the  hank.  When  the 
hank  is  opened  and  each  strand  is  drawn  through  the 
finger  and  separately  examined,  it  is  easier  but  still 
difficult  accurately  to  determine  its  quality. 

No  expert  pretends  to  judge  the  quality  of  gut  in  the 
bundle  except  with  the  aid  of  a  strong  light.  The  eye 
must  be  in  constant  training,  and  as  keen  to  detect  the 
slightest  variations  of  appearance  as  that  of  a  dyer. 
The  angler,  therefore,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  can- 
not be  much  better  than  a  fair  judge.  For  example, 
the  fly  end  of  a  leader  sooner  or  later  becomes  fuzzy 
with  use.  This  occurs  much  sooner  in  some  leaders  than 
in  others,  while  it  measures  the  useful  life  in  all.  Of 
two  hanks  of  gut,  the  product  of  one  may  outwear  the 
other  twenty-five  per  cent,  in  this  respect,  yet  the  two 
may  resemble  each  other  so  closely  that  only  a  trained 
eye  would  be  likely  to  detect  this  difference  in  value. 

Printed  directions  alone  are,  therefore,  quite  inade- 
quate to  make  the  amateur  a  first-class  judge  of  gut. 
Still,  they  may  furnish  a  good  working  foundation  for 
the  leaven  of  experience. 

The  features  to  be  sought  are  a  good  color,  a  hard, 
wiry  texture,  roundness,  even  diameter  from  end  to  end, 
and  length.  From  these  are  to  be  inferred  the  strength 
and  wearing  quality  of  the  gut,  which  are  what  we  wish 
to  estimate. 

We  now  face  the  strongest  attainable  light,  and  hold 
the  bundle  of  gut  to  be  judged  in  front  of  us  so  that  one 
end  projects  towards  the  light  and  the  other  towards  us, 


104  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

each  hand  holding  an  end  of  the  bundle.  We  now  bring 
one^hand  towards  the  other,  thus  compelling  the  strands  to 
separate,  and  forcing  the  gut  to  bend  upward  in  a  curve 
something  less  than  a  semicircle.  In  this  position  it 
will  be  noticed  that  a  certain  part  of  the  curve  seems 
more  highly  illuminated  than  the  rest.  Holding  the  gut 
thus  bent,  we  slowly  raise  first  one  hand  and  then  the 
other,  so  that  this  high  light  shall  run  slowly  to  and  fro 
over  the  curved  gut  from  end  to  end.  During  this 
operation  round  gut  will  present  a  uniform  color,  while 
"  flats  "  will  reflect  the  light  unequally,  and,  therefore, 
seem  to  scintillate.  However  appropriate  this  method 
may  be  to  the  gut  in  hank,  it  is  hardly  applicable  to  a 
single  strand.  In  such  case,  if  the  strand  be  rolled  be- 
tween the  ends  of  the  thumb  and  second  finger — not  the 
first  finger,  which  is  less  sensitive — ^an  ordinarily  acute 
touch  will  detect  whether  the  strand  is  round  or  not. 

The  available  length  of  the  gut  is,  of  course,  deter- 
mined almost  at  the  first  glance. 

From  the  color  we  infer  whether  the  gut  is  fresh  or 
stale,  its  probable  strength  in  relation  to  its  thickness, 
and,  in  part,  its  wearing  quality.  In  all  these  respects 
fresh  gut  is  superior  to  old  gut  of  original  equal  quality. 
The  color  can  best  be  judged  from  the  fuzzy  end  of  the 
hank,  and  should  be  clear  and  glassy,  and  by  no  means 
dull  or  yellowish. 

The  wearing  quality  of  the  gut  maybe  judged  partly 
by  its  color,  partly  by  its  springiness  when  bent  and  re- 
laxed, and  also  by  its  hardness.  It  should  feel  like  wire. 

Really  first-class  gut  of  any  size  is  a  much  scarcer 
article  than  is  generally  supposed.  It  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  as  yet  it  is  not  machine  made,  and  lacks  the 
uniformity  characteristic  of  such  products.     Gut-draw* 


Leaders,  105 

ing  is  a  purely  manual  operation,  the  result  of  which  is 
influenced  by  anything  which  at  the  moment  affects  the 
operator.  It  is  also  a  domestic  operation,  carried  on  in 
the  homes  of  the  peasantry,  and  subject  to  domestic  in- 
fluences. If  the  baby  begins  to  squall,  or  the  dog  gets 
after  the  cat  at  the  critical  moment,  through  the  strand 
then  produced  the  effect  of  that  local  disturbance  may 
be  transmitted  to  the  American  angler  across  the  broad 
Atlantic.  Aside  from  this,  the  crop  varies  greatly  in 
quality  from  year  to  year. 

The  following  figures  were  obtained  from  a  large 
manufacturer,  who  assured  me  they  fairly  represented 
the  average  of  three  seasons'  crops,  and  the  sorting  and 
classification  of  over  two  million  strands  of  gut. 

Out  of  one  hundred  thousand  strands  of  gut  bought 
at  wholesale  as  of  the  same  grade  and  quality,  and  run- 
ning as  even  in  these  respects  as  is  usual  in  the  trade, 
but  one  thousand  strands  rate  first-class,  three  thousand 
second-class,  ten  thousand  third-class,  twenty  thousand 
fourth  -  class,  fifty  thousand  fifth  -  class,  ten  thousand 
sixth-class,  and  six  thousand  will  be  waste. 

A  reputable  dealer  will  not  willingly  sell  a  fly-fisher- 
man leaders  of,  or  flies  tied  on,  fifth  or  sixth  class  gut. 
He  knows  they  will  not  give  satisfaction  if  used  where 
gut  of  that  thickness  is  commonly  used,  and  that  he  will 
have  to  bear  the  blame  and  consequent  loss  of  the  future 
custom  of  the  purchaser  and  perhaps  of  his  friends. 
Experience  and  the  traditions  of  his  trade  have  taught 
him  that  the  fact  that  the  purchaser  would  not  pay  for 
a  better  quality,  and  is  therefore  really  alone  to  blame, 
will  make  no  difference.  Few  blame  themselves  for 
their  folly  when  they  can  find  elsewhere  a  scapegoat  in- 
capable of  protest. 


106  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

Now  what  becomes  of  all  this  cheap  trash,  averaging 
sixty  per  cent,  of  the  product  ? 

He  who  has  been  accustomed  to  pay  a  reputable  dealer 
say  a  dollar  apiece  for  nine -foot  leaders,  and  sees  on 
the  bargain  counter  of  a  department  store  leaders  of 
similar  length  and  thickness  for  sale,  say  at  twenty-five 
cents  each,  and,  thinking  he  has  found  a  bargain,  takes 
advantage  of  it,  will  be  very  apt  to  find  his  gratification 
but  temporary. 

Only  those  whose  time  is  their  own  and  whose  fly -fishing 
lies  at  their  own  threshold  can  afford  to  experiment  with 
cheap  tackle.  I  believe  I  have  never  met  an  experienced 
fly-fisherman  who  would  not  unhesitatingly  endorse  this. 
I  have  rarely  met  a  beginner,  unless  one  to  whom  econ- 
omy was  no  consideration,  who  could  be  so  convinced. 
Assent  in  words  might  be  had  ;  but  his  expressed  faith 
was  inconsistent  with  his  actual  works.  It  would  seem 
to  be  a  lesson  to  be  learned  only  in  the  costly  school  of 
experience.  Injudicious  economy  is  not  infrequently 
the  wildest  extravagance. 

To  this  may  be  added  one  point.  Soak  an  average 
strand  or  two  of  your  gut,  tie  a  loop  in  each  end,  place 
one  end  over  a  hook  and  the  other  on  a  spring-balance, 
and  find  what  the  breaking  strain  actually  is.  Gut  of  the 
same  diameter  differs  so  much  in  strength  that  this  will 
not  be  wasted  time.  I  have  made  an  attempt  to  tabulate 
the  fair  average  of  strength  to  be  expected  from  gut  of 
certain  sizes,  but  the  measurements  are  so  minute,  and 
require  appliances  so  unusual  to  determine  them,  that  it 
has  been  abandoned  as  of  no  practical  value.  I  myself 
always  measure  gut  before  purchasing  it.  Sometimes  I 
have  used  a  Stubb's  wire-gauge  for  this  purpose,  but  it 
is  much  too  coarse.    Uncolored  gut  No.  28  on  that  stand- 


Leaders,  107 

ard  should  stand  eight  pounds  steady  pull  with  a  spring- 
balance  ;  the  drawn  gut  measures  thereon  about  No.  31, 
and  should  stand  two  and  a  half  pounds.  New  gut  of 
No.  30  should  not  break  short  of  four  and  a  half  to  five 
pounds  tested  in  this  manner.  I  now  use  a  gauge  simi- 
lar to  that  employed  to  determine  the  thickness  of  violin 
strings.  It  is  very  easily  made,  and  is  quite  satisfactory. 
A  A  represents  two  pieces  of  brass  touching  at  one 
end,  but  separated  about  an  ordinarily  fine  sewing-nee- 
dle's thickness  at  the  other.  The  adjacent  edges  must 
be  straight.  On  each  side  of  the  closed  ends  a  flat  piece 
of  brass  is  placed,  -B,  and  the  whole  united  with  soft 
solder  and  then  finished  up.  Its  total  length  is  two  and 
a  half  inches.  One  of  the  limbs, 
"S  one  and  three-quarter  inches 
long,  is  divided  into  tenths  of 
an  inch,  as  shown.     Some  sim- 


3 


Pjg  19  ilar  device  will  be  found  useful 

for  purposes  of  comparison  by 
those  who  tie  their  own  flies  and  leaders,  enabling  such 
to  duplicate  a  satisfactory  size — an  effort  liable  to  be  at- 
tended with  mistake  if  the  eye  and  memory  alone  are 
relied  on.  Of  course  an  average  must  be  taken,  as  no 
bundle  of  gut  runs  perfectly  uniform — at  least  as  far  as 
I  have  ever  seen. 

Having  obtained  the  gut,  the  next  step  is  the  dyeing. 

The  books  on  angling  contain  receipts  without  num- 
ber for  this  purpose,  but  my  experiments  induce  me  to 
believe  that  two,  or  at  most  three  of  these,  answer  every 
purpose.  I  have  endeavored  to  ascertain  with  some  de- 
gree of  certainty  how  much  the  dyeing  process  weakens 
the  gut,  but  the  investigation  is  hedged  about  with  dif- 
ficulties.   I  first  tried  looping  half  a  dozen  strands  of 


108  Fly-Tods  and  Fly-tackle, 

gut  from  the  same  bundle,  and  finding  and  recording  the 
breaking  strain  of  each  strand.  Then  after  knotting  the 
pieces  together,  and  dyeing  them  in  a  certain  manner, 
the  breaking  strain  was  again  determined  and  compared 
with  that  first  obtained.  From  these  data  it  was  pro- 
posed to  compute  the  loss  in  strength  due  to  the  use  of 
that  particular  dye ;  but  a  moment's  reflection  suflfices 
to  show  that  this  method  can  afford  no  sure  result;  for 
each  strand  of  course  broke  in  the  first  instance  at  its 
weakest  point.  Consequently,  after  the  fragments  have 
been  united,  the  then  breaking  strain  is  unknown,  and  it 
is  with  this  unknown  quantity  the  comparison  is  neces- 
sarily made.  Other  methods  were  tried,  but  none  were 
free  from  objection.  However,  it  seems  safe  to  say  that 
from  fifteen  up  to  forty  and  even  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
strength  of  the  gut  may  be  lost  in  this  process,  according 
to  the  skill  and  care  used  therein. 

If  the  following  directions  are  followed,  it  is  believed 
this  will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  Before  dyeing  gut, 
the  ragged  ends  should  be  clipped  and  the  useful  por- 
tion bundled  together  by  tying  at  one  end  only.  This 
bundle  should  be  well  washed  with  brown  soap  and 
water,  and  then  rinsed  in  at  least  three  waters  until  the 
soap  is  thoroughly  eliminated ;  it  should  then  be  wiped, 
and  allowed  to  dry.  Thus  any  greasy  matter  which 
may  be  upon  the  surface  of  the  gut  from  any  cause  will 
be  removed,  and  the  dye  will  bite  with  greater  prompt- 
ness and  the  more  indelibly.  For  if  all  dyes  are  to  some 
extent  corrosive,  as  seems  to  be  the  case,  it  is  well  to  ex- 
pose the  gut  to  this  influence  for  as  short  a  time  as  will 
produce  the  desired  result. 

The  least  injurious  of  any  which  will  give  a  useful 
color  is  the  ink-dye.     Indeed  I  have  thought  at  times 


Leaders,  109 

Its  use  was  attended  with  no  loss  whatever.  Doubtless 
this  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  gut  is  then  not 
subjected  to  heat.  The  resultant  color  is  a  neutral  tint 
of  an  azure  tone,  a  color  excellent  in  itself.  Ink,  how- 
ever, is  generally  considered  inferior  to  the  dyes  of  which 
copperas  is  a  component,  in  that  it  does  not  equally 
neutralize  the  natural  gloss  of  the  surface  of  the  gut. 
This  is  of  the  utmost  consequence,  since,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter,  from  a  glossy  surface  the  light  is  so  reflected 
that  a  strand  of  such  gut  appears  in  the  water  like  a 
polished  silver  wire.  Mr.  Fred  Mather,  the  widely 
and  well-known  superintendent  of  the  Cold  Spring  Fish 
Hatchery,  informs  me  that  the  juice  of  the  milk-weed 
will  remove  this  gloss.  I  have  had  no  opportunity  to 
try  this,  but  if  when  used  in  conjunction  with  the  dyes 
it  will  produce  this  effect  without  injuring  the  gut,  Mr. 
Mather  by  his  suggestion  adds  another  to  the  numerous 
obligations  he  has  already  placed  upon  the  angling 
fraternity. 

The  comparative  merits  of  the  different  colors  are 
discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  My 
experiments  seem  to  indicate  that  a  leader  absolutely  in- 
visible to  the  fish,  if  it  ever  will  be,  has  not  as  yet  been 
produced.  Experiment  and  experience  alike  incline  me 
to  believe  that  more  important  than  fishing  up  or  down 
stream — more  important  than  wearing  brilliant  or  sober 
tinted  clothing — more  important  than  wading  rather 
than  fishing  from  the  bank — more  important  than  being 
yourself  visible  or  concealed — more  important,  indeed, 
than  any  of  the  dozen  different  cautions  of  the  books,  is 
it  to  have  your  leader — the  connection  between  you  and 
the  flies — absolutely  invisible ;  or,  since  this  seems  im- 
possible in  the  present  state  of  the  art,  then  at  least 


110  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

that  it  present  to  the  fish  no  unusual  or  unfamiliai 
appearance.  That  in  or  on  smooth  water,  at  least, 
the  leaders  in  present  use  fill  neither  of  these  con- 
ditions, unless  my  experiments  deceive  me,  I  cannot 
doubt. 

Take  this  case  into  consideration  from  the  Forest  and 
Stream  of  February  28, 1884:  "  Near  us  we  have  a  stream 
in  which  fish — trout — are  scarce  and  wild.  They  are  ex- 
ceedingly suspicious  of  any  kind  of  tackle.  ...  I  had 
repeatedly  cast  the  most  tempting  flies,  with  a  mist-col- 
ored leader,  without  effect.  A  soliloquy  followed  :  *  That 
leader  is  not  natural  to  the  every-day  life  of  the  fish.' 
I  adjourned  to  a  neighboring  meadow  and  cut  three  or 
four  long  leafy  timothy  stalks,  which  I  very  loosely 
whipped  to  my  leader.  There  was  no  casting,  but  sim- 
ply letting  the  line  float  with  the  current  over  the  most 
likely  places.  Complete  success  was  my  reward. — '  Forty- 
Niner.^ " 

"  Forty  -  Niner  "  leaders,  prepared  as  described,  did 
comply  with  one  of  these  conditions,  and  the  "  complete 
success  "  which  attended  its  use  is  replete  with  instruc- 
tion to  all  such  as,  in  the  picturesque  language  of  the 
Orient,  are  willing  to  be  admonished. 

The  ink-dye  consists  simply  of  "Arnold's  Writing 
Fluid,"  diluted  with  an  equal  bulk  of  cold  water.  In 
this  the  gut,  washed  as  before  directed,  is  immersed 
from  one-half  to  three  or  four  hours,  according  to  its 
thickness,  or  until  the  desired  color  is  obtained. 

Before  introducing  the  gut  the  entire  contents  should 
be  poured  from  the  ink-bottle.  Should  much  precipitate 
be  found  the  ink  should  not  be  used,  since  possible  de- 
composition and  the  presence  of  free  sulphuric  acid  is 
thus  indicated. 


Leaders,  ill 

The  following  process,  taken  from  Chitty  by  Norris, 
was  originally  derived  by  me  from  the  latter's  most  ex- 
cellent book,  "The  American  Angler."  I  do  not  quote, 
but  give  the  process  as  I  use  it. 

In  a  pint  and  a  half  of  cold  water  put  one  drachm  of 
ground  logwood  and  six  grains  of  powdered  copperas. 
Boil  for  about  five  or  six  minutes,  or  until  a  piece  of 
writing-paper  immersed  therein  is  promptly  colored. 
Then  remove  the  pot  from  the  fire,  and  as  soon  as  the 
liquid  becomes  quiescent  put  in  the  gut,  tied  to  a  little 
stick  or  a  wire  so  that  it  may  be  lifted  and  examined 
from  time  to  time.  With  watch  in  hand,  give  it  two 
to  three  minutes,  according  to  its  thickness,  and  then 
inspect  the  result.  If  not  dyed  sufficiently,  replace  it  for 
another  half -minute  ;  and  so  on  till  the  required  shade  is 
obtained.  Then  wash  well  in  cold  water,  and  the  process 
is  complete. 

This  will  dye  one  hank  of  gut.  Then  it  should  be 
thrown  away,  and  a  fresh  decoction  made  if  more  gut 
is  to  be  colored ;  for  the  dye  becomes  more  and  more 
feeble  with  use,  and  a  more  and  more  protracted  expos- 
ure to  the  heated  liquid  is  therefore  required.  Though 
the  copperas  itself  impairs  the  gut  to  a  certain  degree, 
still  this  appears  to  be  of  small  moment  when  compared 
to  the  injury  done  by  long  continued  immersion  in  the 
almost  boiling  liquid.  Indeed  it  seems  to  make  the  dif- 
ference between  a  loss  of  fifteen  and  possibly  fifty  per 
cent.,  as  before  intimated.  The  color  thus  obtained  is  a 
dull  neutral  tint. 

Different  samples  of  logwood  vary  greatly  in  the 
amount  of  extractive  color  they  contain.  This  may  be 
tested  with  a  slip  of  writing-paper,  as  before  intimated. 
If  failure  is  encountered  it  will  be  from  this  cause,  and 


113  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

success  will  attend  a  change  to  logwood  procured  from 
another  source. 

In  streams  where  floating  grass  and  weeds  are  not  un- 
common, the  following  may  give  better  results ;  for 
though  more  visible,  it  presents  a  less  unusual  appear- 
ance. I  borrow  it  from  Francis  Francis's  book  on  "An- 
gling :"  "  Boil  green  baize  in  water,  and  when  this  is 
well  charged  with  color,  and  still  warm,  immerse  the  gut 
therein  until  sufficiently  dyed."  Then  wash  as  before. 
All  these  boiling  operations  should  be  conducted  in 
earthenware  vessels,  since  most  dyes  are  sensitive  to 
metallic  salts  or  oxides. 

Having  dyed  and  washed  the  gut,  while  still  soft  bind 
it  to  a  stick  that  it  may  dry  straight.  Then  proceed  to 
sort  it,  selecting  first  and  placing  by  themselves  all  the 
thickest  strands,  rejecting  altogether  such  as  are  flat  and 
irregular  in  form ;  for  these  are  not  only  deficient  in 
strength,  but,  giving  more  reflection,  are  consequently 
far  more  conspicuous  in  or  on  the  water.  Throw  these 
away  without  hesitation,  for  they  are  worse  than  useless. 
When  doubt  is  experienced  whether  any  of  the  remain- 
ing strands  should  be  classified  with  those  first  select- 
ed, begin  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale,  and  proceed  in 
the  same  manner  to  select  and  separate  all  the  thin- 
nest strands.  Thus  make  three  bundles  of  large,  me- 
dium, and  small  gut.  You  are  now  ready  to  tie  your 
leaders. 

First,  however,  the  proposed  length  must  be  deter- 
mined, and  this  should  be  such  that  when  the  tail -fly 
is  hooked  upon  one  of  the  posts  separating  the  side  plates 
of  the  reel,  the  leader  will  extend  to  within  eight  inches 
or  a  foot  of  the  tip-end  of  the  rod.  Make  the  upper 
third  of  the  leader  from  the  bundle  composed  of  the 


Leaders.  113 

largest  gut,  the  middle  from  the  medium  bundle,  and 
the  fly  end  from  that  containing  the  thinnest  gut. 

Having  selected  the  strands,  but  still  keeping  them 
separate  by  tying  each  little  bundle  with  a  different 
colored  thread,  soften  by  soaking  in  warm  water,  such 
as  is  not  uncomfortable  to  the  touch.  Ordinarily  cold 
water  is  to  be  preferred  to  soften  a  leader  preparatory 
to  attaching  it  to  the  line,  but  where  knots  are  to  be 
tied  the  utmost  softness  is  required,  not  only  that  the 
gut  may  not  crack  during  the  operation,  but  to  insure 
that  each  knot  draws  so  tight  as  thereafter  to  be  beyond 
the  possibility  of  slipping. 

When  the  gut  is  perfectly  pliable,  beginning  at  the 
line  end,  select  the  largest  strand,  and  doubling  one  end 
into  a  loop,  tie  this  ordinary  knot,  using  the  doubled  part 
as  though  it  were  a  single  piece  of  string.  Arrange 
the  position  of  the  knot  so  as  to  give  a  loop  from  one- 
half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  long.  Then  inserting 
a  match  through  the  loop,  grasp  the  short  end  between 
the  teeth,  the  long  end  with  the  left  hand,  and  draw  the 
knot  together,  shaking  it  well  when  under  the  final  strain 
to  settle  the  parts  together  just  as  far  as  they  can  be 
made  to  slip. 


Fig.  20.— The  ordinary  knot 


114 


Fly-Tods  and  Fly-tachle, 


Fig.  21.--Same  knot  to  form  loop  on  leader. 


Knots,  theoretically  more  perfect,  are  generally  em- 
ployed for  this  purpose,  but  practically  they  are  no  whit 
better — indeed  hardly  so  good,  since  they  are  all  more  or 
less  complex,  while  this  knot  is  already  known  to  every 
child  ten  years  old. 

The  next  step  is  to  unite  this  looped  strand  to  an- 
other, to  be  the  next  thickest  of  the  bundle  from  which 
the  first  was  chosen.  For  this  purpose  the  very  same 
knot  may  be  used,  by  lapping  the  ends  past  each  other, 
and  then  proceeding  as  though  you  were  about  to  tie 
the  same  knot  in  a  single  string,  and  adjusting  its  posi- 
tion so  as  to  fall  on  the  doubled  part — thus  : 


^ 


Leaders. 


115 


This  knot  is  however  inconvenient,  in  that  the  entire 
strand  must  be  drawn  through  the  knot  every  time  it  is 
formed. 

There  is  another  method,  that  which  I  use  myself  and 
prefer. 


Pig.  23. 


It  is  still  the  same  knot  we  have  used  before.  The 
strands  are  lapped,  and  two  ordinary  knots  are  tied,  one 
with  each  short  part  around  each  long  part.  The  knots 
are  then  drawn  tight  where  they  are  made  ;  then  upon 
pulling  on  the  long  ends  the  two  ordinary  knots  will 
slide  together,  when  they  should  be  well  shaken  while 
under  strain,  as  and  for  the  purpose  above  set  forth. 
This  is  known  as  the  "  single  water-knot."  The  "  double 
water  -  knot "  is  generally  used  for  this  purpose,  since 
then  it  is  claimed  the  ends  can  be  cut  off  as  close  as  pos- 
sible without  danger  of  slipping,  and  this  is  true.  It  is 
tied  in  the  same  way  as  the  single  water  -  knot,  except 
that  each  short  part  is  passed  twice  around  the  neighbor- 
ing long  parts  instead  of  but  once,  and  the  end  of  each 
short  part  is  passed  through  both  the  loops  so  formed. 


Fig.  24. 


lift  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

Till  within  the  last  five  years  I  always  used  the  double 
water-knot,  but  then  disliking  its  size  and  obtrusiveness, 
1  turned  to  the  single  water-knot,  and  have  employed 
that  with  entire  satisfaction  ever  since.  There  is  un- 
questionably more  margin  for  carelessness  to  escape  the 
usual  penalty  in  the  double,  than  in  the  single  knot. 
But  with  care,  not  forgetting  when  straining  the  twin 
knots  (if  I  may  use  that  expression)  together  to  shake 
them  well,  the  single  water-knot  is  perfectly  safe  and  by 
no  means  so  bulky. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  verbally  so  to  describe  a 
knot,  that  one  entirely  unacquainted  with  it  can  at  the 
first  effort  successfully  follow  the  given  directions.  That 
one  possible  stumbling-block  may  be  removed,  it  may  be 
remarked  that  both  of  these  water-knots  are  really  com- 
posed of  two  separate  knots,  tied  with  each  short  end  of 
the  strands,  and  around  the  long  portion  of  the  strand 
against  which  each  is  lapped.  Each  of  these  component 
knots,  therefore,  merely  embraces  the  longer  neighboring 
strand,  and  the  latter  may  freely  slide  within  it.  This 
feature  is  sometimes  taken  advantage  of  as  a  solution  to 
the  difficult  question,  how  the  drop-flies  may  most  ad- 
vantageously be  attached  to  the  leader.  For  if  the  two 
knots  which  compose  the  water-knot  be  seized  by  the 
finger-nails,  theoretically  they  may  be  separated  an  inch 
or  80,  leaving  the  gut  doubled  between  these  knots.  If 
then  the  end  of  the  gut  upon  which  a  drop-fly  is  tied  be 
inserted  between  this  doubled  gut,  and  the  component 
knots  be  drawn  together,  the  end  of  the  drop-fly  gut  is 
secured,  and  the  fly  stands  out  nicely  at  right  angles  from 
the  leader. 

I  say  theoretically  the  water- knot  will  separate;  but 
practically,  after  the  leader  is  wet  and  swollen,  it  will 


Leaders,  117 

absolutely  refuse  so  to  do  at  least  two -thirds  of  the 
time.  I  have  even  tied  in,  when  forming  the  knot,  a 
third  thick  strand,  to  be  removed  when  the  knot  was 
complete,  and  thus  allow  for  the  swelling  of  the  leader 
when  wet.  But  it  was  the  same  old  story;  like  the 
Dutchman's  pig,  sometimes  it  would  and  sometimes  it 
wouldn't. 

No  trifle  is  more  exasperating  than  to  stand  knee- 
deep  in  water,  a  choice  and  favorite  pool  before  you, 
one  fly  between  your  teeth,  and  your  rod  tucked  under 
your  arm,  and  pick  away  and  in  vain  at  these  knots. 
I  have  even  heard  adjectives  of  great  force  then  ap- 
plied to  them,  and  in  a  tone  which  left  no  question  of 
the  heartiness  of  the  condemnation. 

If,  however,  this  method  of  attaching  the  drop-flies  is 
preferred,  the  double  water-knot  should  be  used  rather 
than  the  single,  since  the  latter  will  not  bear  with  safety 
the  incidental  manipulation. 

The  following  seems  to  me  preferable,  and  though  a 
little  more  visible,  still  the  drop-flies  can  thus  always 
readily  be  changed,  and  that  without  danger  to  the  an- 
gler's peace  of  mind. 

At  the  place  where  the  drop-flies  should  be,  join  the 
leader  by  two  loops  instead  of  knots — thus : 


Fig.  28. 


118 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-toMe. 


By  pushing  these  loops  apart,  an  opening  may  be  formed 
in  which  the  gut  of  the  drop  -  fly  may  be  inserted,  and 
securely  held  when  the  loops  are  drawn  tight  again. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  making  of  a  leader  beyond 
forming  the  loops  at  the  proper  places,  and  uniting  the 
short  lengths  by  knots.     This  has  been  described. 

Some  recommend  fastening  a  gut  loop  to  the  end  of 
the  line,  and  looping  the  leader  to  it  in  the  usual  man- 
ner— that  is,  by  inserting  the  loop  on  the  line  through 
the  loop  on  the  larger  end  of  the  leader,  and  then  draw- 
ing the  entire  leader  through  the  former,  just  as  the 
tail -fly  is  ordinarily  attached  to  the  leader.  Others 
prefer  to  knot  the  line  to  the  leader  in  the  following 
manner : 


Fig.  2T.— ^,  line;  B,  leader. 

This  knot  is  theoretically  a  perfect  knot,  in  that  it  will 
stand  forever  if  so  desired,  yet  may  be  loosed  with  ease 
at  any  time.  The  knot  as  first  figured,  is  not  yet  drawn 
together.     Care  must  be  taken  that  this  knot  does  not 


Leaders.  119 

"  upset "  when  tightened — that  is,  the  knot  must  be  on 
the  loop  of  the  leader  itself,  and  by  no  means  on  the 
line,  since  in  the  one  case  it  will  stand,  and  in  the  other 
it  will  not.  This  will  be  more  clear  if  we  investigate 
the  principle  on  which  it  is  constructed.  On  examining 
the  diagram,  it  appears  that  the  end  of  the  line  is 
first  run  through  the  loop  of  the  leader,  then  wrapped 
entirely  around  the  outside  of  the  loop,  and  lastly  is 
tucked  between  the  line  on  one  side  and  both  parts  of 
the  loop  on  the  other.  Clearly  this  knot  cannot  slip,  un- 
less the  end  of  the  line  slips  at  the  same  time.  But  the 
greater  the  strain,  the  more  firmly  that  end  is  compressed 
and  held ;  while  if  the  knot  is  pushed  down  the  loop  of 
the  leader,  as  shown  in  the  first  figure,  it  is  clear  that 
the  end  is  at  once  freed  from  pressure,  and  may  be  easily 
withdrawn  and  the  knot  released.  To  facilitate  this, 
some  double  the  end  before  putting  it  under  the  line,  as 
shown  in  the  second  figure.  Then  a  pull  on  the  end 
loosens  the  knot,  just  as  a  shoe  is  untied.  If,  however, 
the  knot  is  allowed  to  "  upset,"  this  is  the  result,  in  which 
it  is  clear,  first,  that  the  end  of  the  line  is  not  "  jammed," 
and  second,  that  the  knot  cannot  easily  be  unfastened. 


Pig.  88.— -4,  line;  5,  leader. 

If  not  already  familiar  with  this  knot,  try  it  right  here 
with  a  piece  of  string.  It  is  very  simple.  Half  a  dozen 
experiments,  guided  by  the  diagram,  will  indelibly  im- 
press it  on  the  memory.     No  person  learns  a  knot  solely 


120  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJde, 

from  inspection  of  a  drawing.  But  such  inspection  be- 
comes study  when  combined  with  an  effort  to  follow  out 
the  illustration  in  practice,  and  this  is  the  way,  and  the 
only  way,  and  at  the  same  time  a  sure  way,  to  master  a 
matter  of  this  kind.  Some  complain  they  can  never  learn 
a  knot  from  a  book.  The  only  difficulty  is  that  such  do 
not  attack  it  in  the  right  way.  Any  of  the  simple  knots 
required  by  the  angler  can  thus  readily  be  mastered, 
provided  the  learner  will  only  try  string  in  hand. 

How  far  the  drop-flies  should  be  placed  from  the  tail- 
fly  depends  on  circumstances.  With  a  long  rod  they 
may  be  nearer  than  with  a  short  rod,  so  also  when  wad- 
ing as  compared  to  fishing  from  the  bank.  With  a  ten- 
foot  rod  about  forty  inches  between  the  tail  and  middle 
fly,  and  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  between  the 
latter  and  the  hand-fly, will  be  the  average. 

It  is  customary  to  secure  the  tail-fly  to  the  leader  by 
providing  both  with  loops  and  looping  them  together 
as  shown  in  Fig.  25.  But  I  decidedly  prefer  to  have 
my  flies,  no  matter  how  diminutive  they  may  be,  tied 
on  eyed  hooks.  This  form  of  hook  has  been  described 
and  discussed  in  Chapter  I.  How  it  is  to  be  tied  to  the 
leader  only  remains  to  be  stated. 

In  tying  these  knots  it  is  well  invariably  to  hold  the 
hook  in  one  and  the  same  position,  and  always  to  pass 
the  leader  in  one  and  the  same  way.  Indeed,  this  is 
true  of  all  knots,  and  is  based  on  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  mnemonics,  that  it  is  easier  to  remember  one 
thing  than  half  a  dozen.  For  example,  the  knot  figured 
in  the  following  cut  may  be  tied  with  the  point  of  the 
hook  uppermost,  as  shown  ;  or  with  it  pointing  down- 
ward, or  to  either  side.  Also,  with  the  hook  in  any  one 
of  these  positions,  the  leader,  after  threading  through 


Leaders,  121 

the  eye,  may  be  first  passed  to  one  or  the  other  side  of 
the  shank.  While  each  of  these  methods  will  give  the 
same  ultimate  practical  result,  the  various  steps,  though 
identical  in  principle,  seem  different  in  execution.  Ob- 
viously, if  one  tried  to  tie  the  knot  in  all  these  different 
positions,  choosing  first  one  and  then  another  at  hap- 
hazard, the  knot  is  not  mastered  for  practical  use  until 
the  manipulation  incident  to  each  of  these  positions  is 
fully  acquired.  In  other  words,  the  learner  inadver- 
tently charges  himself  with  mastering  a  dozen  or  more 
knots  when  one  would  fully  answer  every  practical  pur- 
pose. The  objection  most  frequently  urged  against  the 
eyed  hook  is  the  diflSculty  of  knotting  it  to  the  leader. 
This  diflficulty  is  really  unnecessarily  self-created,  and 
would  cease  if  the  hook  and  leader  were  always  handled 
in  precisely  the  same  way. 

For  these  reasons  the  beginner  is  earnestly  advised 
always  to  hold  the  hook  and  always  to  pass  the  leader 
as  shown  in  the  following  cuts. 


c 


It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  knot  is  identical 
with  that  shown  in  Fig.  26,  and  that  the  remarks  made 
in  connection  with  that  figure  apply.  It  is  also  clear 
that  after  use  the  knot  may  be  loosened  and  untied 
with  the  greatest  ease  by  merely  pushing  the  leader 
farther  through  the  eye  in  the  direction  of  the  bend  of 
the  hook. 


122  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJde. 

This  knot,  Fig.  A,  will  stand  very  well  where  the  eye 
of  the  hook  is  small.  But  since  it  cannot  be  relied  on 
for  "  loop-eyed "  hooks  where  the  eye  is  larger,  that 
shown  in  Fig.  B  is  advisable  in  all  cases,  as  the  memory 
is  then  charged  with  but  one  knot. 


Fig.  B. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  knot  differs  from  that  shown 
in  Fig.  A  only  in  that  the  end  of  the  leader  is  passed 
around  the  shank  twice,  instead  of  once,  before  the  knot 
is  drawn  tight.  Try  it.  Tie  a  loop  on  the  end  of  one 
piece  of  string  and  imagine  it  to  be  the  eye  of  a  hook. 
Take  another  string,  which  imagine  to  be  a  leader. 
Then,  with  Fig.  B  before  you,  carefully  and  slowly  fol- 
low what  is  there  shown.  Three  minutes  at  the  outside 
will  master  the  problem,  for  it  might  serve  as  a  type 
for  simplicity  itself. 

This  knot  will  hold  perfectly  as  long  as  desired,  and 
can  be  untied  with  the  same  facility  and  in  the  same 
way  as  that  shown  in  Fig.  A.  In  my  own  practice  I 
always  fasten  my  line  to  my  leader  with  this  knot. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  free  end  of  the  leader  pro- 
jects at  right  angles  to  the  shank  of  the  hook  in  both 
these  knots.  This  end  should  be  cut  off  if  it  projects 
over  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  A  projection  of  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  is  about  right. 

Some  object  to  this  rectangular  projection  of  the  free 
end  of  the  leader,  and  modify  the  knot  so  that  the  end 


Leaders. 


123 


of  the  leader  projects  in  a  line  parallel  with  and  close 
to  the  body  of  the  fly.    Of  course  the  end  then  requires 
no  cutting  off.     It  is  a  better  knot,  but  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  learn. 
It  is  begun  as  shown  in  Fig.  C. 


c 


Pig.  C. 


This  is  identical  with  Fig.  A,  which  we  already  know, 
so  there  is  nothing  new  to  learn  here. 

Then,  instead  of  passing  the  end  of  the  leader  twice 
around  the  shank  of  the  hook,  as  in  Fig.  B,  we  pass  it 
over  the  long  part  of  the  leader  as  shown  in  Fig.  D. 


Fig.  D. 

Remember  always  to  hold  the  hook  as  shown.  Now 
look  carefully  at  Fig.  D,  and  note  exactly  how  the  end 
of  the  leader  is  passed  in  reference  to  the  long  part  of 
the  leader — see  a.  This  is  the  crux,  of  the  position. 
If  this   is  right,  all  the  rest  is  easy.     You  will   note 


134  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

that  when  the  hook  is  held  in  the  position  shown  in 
Fig.  D  that  the  end  passes  above  the  long  part  of  the 
leader,  yiot  below. 

Then  tuck  the  end  through  the  loop  first  formed 
(Fig.  C)  alongside  the  wing  (as  shown  in  Fig.  E)  and 
draw  the  knot  tight  by  pulling  first  on  the  end,  then  on 
the  leader. 


Pig.  E. 

This  is  known  as  the  "  Figure-Eight  Knot." 
The  last  step  in  the  knot  is  most  conveniently  taken 
when  the  fly  is  held  with  the  wing  uppermost — that  is, 
finish  Fig.  D  with  the  hook  in  the  position  shown. 
Then,  being  sure  that  the  end  passes  over  the  leader  as 
therein  shown,  turn  the  hook  so  the  wing  of  the  fly  is 
uppermost,  and  then  finish  the  Fig.  E  step  of  the  knot. 
This  method  of  attaching  the  flies  to  the  leader 
has,  I  believe,  many  advantages.  The  customary  loops 
are  apt  to  immesh  more  or  less  air,  which,  when  sub- 
merged, shines  like  polished  silver ;  while  all  disturb- 
ance of  the  water  caused  by  the  knot  I  advocate  is 
so  close  to  the  fly  as  readily  to  be  attributed  to  the 
motion  of  the  fly  itself.  Again,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
pass  the  fly  through  the  loop,  and  the  injury  it  not 
unfrequently  suffers  from  this  cause  is  avoided,  while 
all  flies  are  alike  indifferently  available  for  droppers  as 


Leaders,  125 

well  as  stretchers ;  and  lastly,  an  ordinary  tin  tobacco- 
box  becomes  a  most  convenient  fly-book  for  temporary 
use.  When  this  method  is  followed,  the  dropper -gut 
lengths  of  course  remain  constantly  attached  to  the 
leader  while  in  use. 

Having  completed  your  leader,  grading  its  taper  by 
careful  and  orderly  selection  from  the  thick,  medium  and 
thin  bundles  of  gut,  snip  off  the  free  ends  closely.  The 
next  step  is  to  test  it.  This  should  never  be  omitted. 
Provide  yourself  with  some  strips  of  writing-paper  about 
half  an  inch  wide  and  an  inch  long,  and  gum  one  end,  and 
let  this  dry.  Then  proceed  as  follows  :  Soak  your  leader 
till  perfectly  soft.  Thrust  a  brad-awl  through  one  end 
loop,  and  into  a  board.  Apply  a  spring-balance  to  the  oth- 
er end  loop,  holding  this  with  the  right  hand,  while  you 
reach  before  it  and  grasp  the  leader  with  the  left.  Then 
strain  the  leader  till  it  breaks,  noting  upon  the  spring- 
balance  at  how  many  pounds  this  takes  place.  Then 
knot  the  leader  again,  snip  off  the  ends,  coil  it  about 
something  round  to  give  it  a  nice  appearance,  and  after 
removing  the  leader,  fasten  the  coils  so  formed  by  wind- 
ing one  end  spirally  about  them.     Then  write  the  date, 

and  "  breaks  at pounds,"  on  one  of  the  paper  slips, 

and  attach  it  to  the  leader.  You  will  thereafter  know 
the  history  of  that  leader,  and  what  reliance  can  be 
placed  upon  it.  Should  the  leader  break  in  testing  much 
below  what  you  think  it  should  have  endured,  prove  it 
again  after  re-tying  it.  For  in  the  first  instance  the  gut 
may  have  been  cracked  somewhere,  and  if  this  was  the 
case  your  test  gave  no  indication  of  its  real  strength. 
I  believe  it  will  be  found  wise  invariably  to  test  a  leader 
every  time  it  is  to  be  used. 

This  can  be  readily  and  satisfactorily  done  without 


126  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

other  appliance  tlian  the  angler's  own  two  hands.  Seize 
the  line  with  one  hand  and  the  leader  about  a  foot  be- 
yond the  line  with  the  other.  Then  give  two  or  three 
smart  jerks.  If  it  stands,  test  the  next  foot  or  so  in  the 
same  manner,  and  so  on  down  to  and  including  the  tail- 
fly.  Be  careful  to  have  the  knots,  which  are  the  most 
to  be  suspected  parts,  between  the  hands — that  is,  each 
hand  should  always  grasp  the  leader  between  the  knots. 
A  little  common-sense  must  temper  the  severity  of  the 
jerk,  which,  of  course,  must  bear  some  relation  to  the 
thickness  of  the  gut.  This  test  is  best  applied  only 
when  the  leader  is  wet  and  soft ;  when  dry,  great  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  bend  the  leader  sharply  where 
grasped,  or  the  dry  gut  may  crack,  when,  of  course,  its 
strength  at  that  point  is  gone. 

To  recapitulate  :  When  made  or  bought,  test  the 
leader  with  the  spring  balance  and  attach  a  tag  giving 
date  and  number  of  pounds  applied  to  test  it.  After 
that,  when  in  use,  test  the  leader  at  least  once — better 
still,  twice — each  day  by  the  other  method,  and  you  need 
have  little  fear  that  your  leader  will  play  you  false. 

Consider  this  incident.  A  friend  was  about  to  make 
his  maiden  cast  in  Maine  waters,  to  which  he  had  been 
attracted  by  reports  of  the  large  trout  which  might  be 
there  taken.  Since  the  trip  had  been  determined  on,  he 
had  dreamed  of  nothing  but  big  trout,  and  his  ardor  was 
at  fever  heat.  Beside  leaders  fit  to  hold  a  shark,  which 
had  been  specially  provided  for  that  occasion,  he  had 
half  a  dozen  lighter  ones,  left  from  a  previous  excursion 
to  the  Adirondacks.  He  was  strongly  recommended  to 
test,  and,  if  strong  enough,  to  use  the  latter.  Not  one  of 
them,  on  the  first  trial,  bore  a  strain  of  half  a  pound  with- 
out rupture.    Some  broke  three  times,  but  not  one  failed 


Leaders.  127 

finally  to  endure  four  and  a  half  pounds,  and  that  with 
but  trivial  loss  in  length.  Had  he  used  the  leaders  he  in- 
tended, their  excessive  thickness  and  unnecessary  obtru- 
siveness  would  doubtless  have  seriously  lessened  his 
chances  of  success  with  the  grade  of  fish  he  had  come  so 
far  to  take;  while  had  he  employed  the  others,  how  great 
would  have  been  his  disappointment  when  every  decent 
rise  he  had  must  have  been  followed  by  the  loss  of  the 
fish,  his  flies,  and  a  portion  of  his  leader.  The  fault  lay 
not  with  the  quality  of  the  gut,  for  that  was  good  enough ; 
but  at  some  time  since  these  leaders  were  made,  they  had 
been  subjected  to  maltreatment  when  dry,  breaking  the 
fibre,  and  thus  rendering  the  leader  worse  than  useless 
until  the  damaged  part  was  eliminated.  The  most  care- 
ful and  critical  ocular  inspection  would  have  given  rise 
to  no  suspicion  how  defective  these  leaders  really  were. 
Actual  test  alone  could  detect  their  weakness. 

Take  another  instance  from  my  own  experience.  Some 
years  ago  I  purchased  a  bundle  of  gut,  which,  though 
small  in  diameter,  was  of  uncommon  length,  as  well  as 
of  unusual  excellence  in  every  other  respect.  It  was 
justly  regarded  as  a  great  prize.  Having  abundance  of 
other  colors,  I  prepared  to  dye  this  lot  in  a  decoction  of 
red  onion-peel,  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  a 
brownish-yellow  tint  was  the  least  visible  in  brown  wa- 
ters. The  dye  did  not  seem  to  bite  readily,  so  the  aid 
of  heat  was  sought  to  hasten  the  process.  This  had  the 
desired  effect,  and  a  very  satisfactory  color  was  obtained. 
Half  a  dozen  leaders  were  made  from  it  in  the  hurry  in- 
cident to  the  last  day  or  two  of  preparation  for  a  some- 
what protracted  fishing-trip,  and  with  them  in  my  fly- 
book  I  set  out.  Arriving  in  the  evening,  the  next  morn- 
ing we  began  our  preparations  for  fishing,  when  these 


128  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

leaders  were  produced  with  a  grand  flourish  before  the 
other  anglers  then  present,  and  their  supposed  merits 
were  expatiated  upon.  From  hand  to  hand  they  passed, 
the  length  and  the  roundness  of  the  strands,  and  their 
uniform  and  delicate  color,  eliciting  universal  admiration. 
It  then  occurred  to  me  that  they  had  not  been  tested;  and 
this,  acting  on  principle,  and  not  because  I  entertained 
the  most  remote  suspicion  of  their  strength,  I  proceeded 
to  do.  We  have  the  best  of  authority  that  "  pride  goeth 
before  destruction,  and  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall,"  and 
so  it  was  in  this  case.  The  gut  before  dyeing  showed  an 
average  breaking  strain  of  eight  pounds,  and  guided  by 
the  tests  then  made,  not  the  slightest  doubt  was  enter- 
tained that  the  leaders  made  from  it,  after  dyeing,  would 
stand  six  pounds  at  least;  but  the  protracted  exposure 
to  heat  had  rotted  them  throughout,  and  they  broke 
again  and  again  at  two  pounds,  and  less.  It  may  easily 
be  imagined  that  so  little  wool  after  so  great  a  cry  was 
sufficiently  humiliating;  but  at  the  same  time  the  cloud 
had  its  silver  lining,  though  invisible  until  its  shadow  had 
passed.  I  then  learned  the  lessons  which  it  is  the  pur- 
pose of  these  incidents  to  impress — keep  your  gut  from 
hot  water  except  in  dyeing,  and  then  let  the  exposure 
be  as  brief  as  possible;  and  never  use  an  untested  leader, 
no  matter  how  great  your  confidence  in  its  strength 
may  be. 

The  strain  imposed  upon  a  leader  by  even  the  largest 
trout  is  generally  greatly  over-estimated.  A  leader  that 
will  endure  five  pounds  steady  strain  with  a  spring-bal- 
ance will,  when  backed  by  the  elasticity  of  a  fair  rod,  re- 
sist the  utmost  effort  of  the  largest  trout  that  swims  the 
Rangely  Lakes.  I  doubt  whether  the  largest  of  them  on  a 
steady  strain  can  pull  one  pound  in  still  water;  though  of 


Leaders.  129 

course  if  it  gather  momentum,  and  thus  throw  its  weight 
and  velocity  suddenly  upon  a  leader,  the  momentary 
strain  might  be  much  greater.  It  is  also  quite  another 
thing  to  drag  a  struggling  fish  through  the  water  against 
his  utmost  effort,  from  merely  holding  him  at  a  fixed 
distance.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  strain  imposed  by  a 
spring-balance  is  an  even  and  steady  pull,  most  favorable 
to  the  endurance  of  the  gut ;  and  also  that  in  actual  use, 
in  a  moment  of  inattention  on  the  part  of  the  angler, 
strains  of  a  different  and  more  sudden  nature  may  be  en- 
countered. But  still  I  believe  that  a  leader  that  will 
stand  a  spring-balance  pull  of  four  and  a  half  to  five 
pounds,  has  ample  reserve  to  meet  this.  A  thin  leader 
is  a  very  decided  advantage,  and  nothing  heavier  than 
gut  adequate  to  meet  a  reasonable  margin  for  deteriora- 
tion by  lapse  of  time  and  wear,  added  to  the  power  of 
the  fish  against  which  it  is  to  be  employed,  should  be 
used. 

The  thickness  of  leaders  habitually  used  at  the  Range- 
ly  Lakes  is  simply  preposterous.  Heavier  would  not  be 
selected  for  a  forty-pound  salmon. 

Among  other  reasons,  these  conclusions  rest  partly  on 
the  following : 

In  June,  1883,  with  some  other  anglers  I  was  in  camp 
in  the  Maine  woods.  The  conversation  turned  on  this 
subject,  and  having  seen  the  experiment  tried,  I  said 
that  the  strain  of  any  trout  could  not  by  possibility 
much  exceed  a  pound.  This  statement  was  regarded  by 
some  with  so  much  surprise,  that  a  trial  was  suggested. 
A  ten-foot  hexagonal  split-bamboo  rod  of  my  own  make, 
and  quite  stiff  for  a  fly-rod,  was  used.  Drawing  with 
this  upon  a  spring-balance  following  up  the  bend  of  the 
rod  as  a  fish  would  do,  with  the  hand  holding  the  rod 
9 


180  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTcle. 

and  its  butt  away  from  the  body,  the  strongest  among  the 
half  dozen,  and  he  a  man  of  muscle,  could  with  his  ut- 
most effort — such  an  effort  that  the  rod  fairly  quivered 
— scarcely  raise  a  strain  of  one  and  a  quarter  pounds. 
He  had  caught  many  large  fish,  and  frankly  admitted 
that  he  had  never  exerted  any  such  force  as  that.  We 
all  tried  it,  I  among  the  number.  The  very  next  morn- 
ing I  took  a  trout  which  weighed  five  pounds  and  two 
ounces,  after  a  twenty  minutes'  fight.  During  this  I 
constantly  had  in  mind  the  experiment  of  the  preced- 
ing evening,  and  I  am  confident  that  at  no  time  did  his 
pull  exceed  half  a  pound.  This  was,  however,  in  still 
water. 

During  September  of  the  same  year  a  friend,  using 
quite  a  fine  leader  tested  to  four  and  a  half  pounds,  fast- 
ened a  trout  in  still  water  but  in  a  very  dangerous 
place.  Not  only  did  he  hold  him  without  yielding  an 
inch  of  line,  but  hung  to  him  till  his  guide  took  the  boat 
into  clear  water,  towing  the  fish  after.  It  weighed  four 
and  a  half  pounds. 

I  might  multiply  instances  of  this  kind,  but  these  seem 
sufficient. 

Such  were  my  views  when  this  book  originally  went 
to  press.  But  that  experiment  is  the  touchstone  of 
theory  cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  on  the  angling 
mind.  When  brought  face  to  face  with  an  assumption 
which  we  know  is  fallacious,  we  are  very  apt  to  run  to 
the  other  extreme,  and  this  I  did. 

Salmon-fishing  became  very  dull  on  the  Moisie  River  by 
the  middle  of  July,  1 887.  As  we  were  fixed  there  until  the 
21st,  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  sea-trout.  Not  until 
the  18th  did  we  strike  them  in  numbers;  after  that  they 
were  sufficiently  abundant  to  satisfy  the  most  grasping. 


Leaders.  131 

Upon  the  occasion  hereinafter  referred  to  the  trout 
averaged  rather  even  in  point  of  size,  by  far  the  greater 
number  ranging  within  half  a  pound  one  way  or  the 
other  of  two  pounds.  Our  largest  was  three  pounds, 
five  ounces,  while  very  few  ran  as  small  as  one  pound. 
All  were  taken  with  the  fly,  the  "  Parmachenee  Belle  " 
being  the  apparent  favorite.  A  moderate  current  aided 
the  efforts  of  the  struggling  fish  to  escape.  All  were 
fine,  active  fish. 

On  the  19th  they  were  so  abundant  that  it  was  quite 
a  matter  of  indifference  whether  they  escaped  after 
taking  the  fly  or  not.  The  idea  then  suddenly  occurred 
to  me  that  no  better  opportunity  could  present  itself  to 
determine  by  actual  experiment  how  much  a  trout  could 
pull.  Many,  myself  among  the  number,  had  theorized 
about  this,  but  no  one,  so  far  as  I  knew,  had  ever  sub- 
jected his  theory  to  actual  experiment. 

I  was  provided  with  a  tested  spring-balance  graduated 
to  read  to  two  ounces,  by  which  a  pretty  accurate  de- 
termination to  one  ounce  was  possible.  My  first  at- 
tempts were  made  as  follows  :  After  fastening  the  fish, 
the  line  was  attached  to  the  hook  of  the  spring-balance 
between  the  reel  and  the  first  ring.  But  it  was  soon 
perceived  that  any  result  so  obtained  was  modified  by 
the  friction  of  the  line  through  the  rings  and  tip  end  of 
the  rod,  and  that  by  this  method  the  object  in  view — 
to  ascertain  the  amount  of  strain  which  a  trout  of  a 
given  size  could  impose  on  a  leader — could  be  but  im- 
perfectly attained. 

The  following  method  was  then  adopted  and  persisted 
in:  After  fastening  a  fish  the  rod  was  at  once  passed 
to  the  bowman  of  the  boat,  while  my  gaffer  and  I  seized 
the  line  beyond  the  tip,  one  holding  the  fish  so  that 


132  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

there  would  be  slack  line  near  the  tip  to  enable  the 
other  to  fasten  some  part  of  this  slack  to  the  spring- 
balance.  After  the  connection  was  made  the  line  was 
released  so  as  to  bring  all  subsequent  strain  directly 
upon  the  spring-balance. 

The  results  were  most  provoking.  Trout  are  pro- 
verbially perverse,  but  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  had  never 
in  my  experience  seen  any  so  thoroughly  imbued  with 
this  abominable  characteristic.  To  make  the  connection 
with  the  spring-balance  required  time,  and  by  the  time 
it  was  made  the  fish  would  either  stop  pulling  alto- 
gether or  would  pull  with  but  a  portion  of  the  vigor  it 
had  displayed  while  the  line  was  being  made  fast. 
Then  we  would  try  to  stir  them  up  by  jerking  on  the 
line.  This  generally  produced  the  desired  effect,  but 
by  no  means  in  the  desired  degree  before  the  line  had 
been  hauled  in  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  a  fresh 
connection  with  the  spring-balance  necessary.  This 
again  took  time,  and  when  we  were  ready  the  fish 
would  again  become  comparatively  quiescent.  Then 
we  disconnected  again,  hauled  the  fish  in,  hand  over 
hand,  fastened  on  the  spring-balance  once  more,  and 
proceeded  to  stimulate  the  fish  by  poking  it  with  the 
handle  of  the  landing-net.  When  fortune  seemed  to 
smile  on  us  it  was  in  but  a  half-hearted  fashion.  Just 
as  we  thought  we  had  a  result,  the  fish  would  break 
away  so  that  we  could  not  complete  the  experiment  by 
determining  his  weight.  With  all  the  larger  fish  either 
this  was  the  case  or  we  could  not  induce  them  to  do 
their  best  when  we  were  in  a  position  to  record  it. 

For  two  days  every  fish  I  fastened  was  subjected  to 
this  experiment.  The  indicator  of  the  spring-balance 
was  never  at  rest  for  an  instant  when  the  fish  were  pull- 


Leaders,  188 

ing  against  it,  thus  showing  an  incessantly  varying 
strain.  They  seemed  to  pull  their  best  during  some 
portion  of  the  time  while  the  line  was  held  when  being 
attached  to  the  spring-balance  for  the  first  time.  Rarely, 
indeed,  could  one  be  induced  even  by  the  most  savage 
treatment  to  pull  as  hard  again.  The  greatest  effect 
was  produced  when  the  fish  darted  off  sidewise. 

Of  the  many  trials  intimated  above,  in  but  four  in- 
stances were  the  results  satisfactorily  conclusive.  The 
following  gives  the  strain  in  these  four  cases  during  the 
most  violent  paroxysm  of  the  fish,  and,  as  far  as  I  was 
able  to  judge,  measures  quite  accurately  all  that  the  in- 
dividual fish  described  could  do  : 


A  trout  of  1  lb.  9  oz.  pulled  1  lb.  4  oz. 
i(  1    *^     1    ^'         ^*  12    ^' 


<c 

1 

"  11 

(( 

(( 

1 

(( 

5 

{( 

c« 

1 

"     9 

u 

a 

1 

(( 

8 

(( 

But  though  these  four  cases  were  all  that  were  suffi- 
ciently conclusive  to  merit  detailed  report,  many  of  the 
others  were  more  or  less  suggestive.  The  whole  series 
of  experiments  indicated  that  I  had  underestimated  the 
power  of  trout.  I  concluded  that  an  active  and  enter- 
prising trout  in  still  water  could  impose,  and  that  dur- 
ing some  part  of  its  struggles  for  life  it  may  for  an  in- 
stant impose,  on  the  leader  which  holds  it  a  strain  equal 
to  the  trout's  own  weight,  or  a  few  ounces  more  in  ex- 
ceptional cases. 

Obviously,  this  was  not  quite  satisfactory,  since  the 
initial  strain,  presumptively  the  most  energetic,  was,  in 
a  measure,  conjectural.  To  verify  my  conclusions  a 
somewhat  protracted  series  of  experiments  were  subse- 


134  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

quently  conducted  in  the  following  manner  :  One  end 
of  a  cord  was  fastened  to  the  reel-line  just  beyond  the 
tip-ring,  the  other  end  leading  to  a  spring-balance  held 
in  my  hand.  Three  or  four  feet  of  the  reel-line  were 
drawn  off  and  hung  in  a  loop  between  my  casting  hand 
and  the  reel.  The  moment  a  fish  was  fastened  the  rod 
was  pointed  straight  at  the  fish.  Thus  the  initial  strain 
was  almost  instantly  brought  directly  on  the  cord  lead- 
ing to  the  spring-balance.  My  notes  on  these  experi- 
ments have  been  lost  or  mislaid. 

Fortunately  the  table  given  above  was  published  in 
the  Forest  and  Stream^  which  brought  out  some  experi- 
ments by  a  correspondent  signing  himself  C.  D.  O., 
tried  in  substantially  the  manner  indicated  above.  As 
my  recollection  is  that  my  results  did  not  differ  mate- 
rially, it  seems  better  to  give  his  figures  than  to  trust  to 
memory  for  my  own.  He  first  mentions  some  lake 
trout  caught  with  a  hand-line  when  fishing  through  the 
ice  in  winter,  the  line  being  so  arranged  that  the  spring- 
balance  could  be  hooked  to  a  loop  on  the  line  the  mo- 
ment a  fish  was  fastened.  This,  of  course,  gave  the  di- 
rect strain  without  any  possible  complications  arising 
from  the  intervention  of  a  rod.  Though  lake  trout  are 
not  brook  trout,  still  their  shape  is  not  so  dissimilar  as 
to  render  his  figures  other  than  interesting,  to  say  the 
least. 

A  lake  trout  of  1  lb.  2  oz.  pulled  2  lb.  8  oz. 


(( 

2 

"    4 

3 

(( 

1 

"    2 

1 

8 

u 

(( 

1 

"14 

2 

4 

(( 

cc 

v^ 

2 

"    1 

2 

4 

(( 

(( 

2 

"    5 

1 

12 

(( 

Leaders,  135 

With  his  appliances  arranged  as  first  indicated  above  : 
In  dead  water  of  a  swift  stream  : 

A  brook  trout  of  0  lb.  10  oz.  pulled  16  oz. 

"                   0    "      8  "  "  6    " 

"                   0    "      6  "  "  9    " 

"                  1    "      1  "  "  2  lb.     4    " 

This  last  result,  as  well  as  the  first  in  the  preceding 
table,  is  so  far  in  excess  of  any  in  my  own  experiments, 
that  I  mistrust  an  inadvertent  error  in  the  transcription 
of  the  figures. 
In  pond  fishing  : 

A  brook  trout  of  12  oz.  pulled  14  oz. 
«  9     "         "  8     " 

u  18    u        u        20    " 

In  rapid  current : 

A  brook  trout  of  1  lb.  9  oz.  pulled  2  lb. 

"                   2    "    2    "        "  2    "  12  oz. 

i(                   3    "    0    "        "  4    "  4    " 

c(                   Q    u  12    "        "  1     "  4    " 

a                   3    "    4    "        "  5    "  0    " 

In  "  comparatively  still  water  "  : 

A  brook  trout  of  3  lb.  4  oz.  pulled  4  lb.  8  oz. 

The  gentleman  whose  figures  I  have  borrowed  states 
that  he  met  the  same  difficulty  that  I  did  in  that  the 
index  of  his  spring-balance  was  never  at  rest  for  a  mo- 


136  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

ment.  That  is,  the  strain  varied  every  instant,  causing 
the  index  to  vibrate  incessantly  up  and  down  the  scale 
with  such  rapidity  that  the  desired  reading  had  to  be 
caught  on  the  wing,  so  to  speak. 

To  eliminate  this  uncertainty  I  devised  a  cheap  and 
simple  automatic  device  which  I  intended  to  use  to  test 
the  power  of  salmon.  In  the  hurry  of  packing  for  my 
next  salmon  trip  the  device  was  overlooked,  and  in 
the  next-following  trip  it  was  lost  overboard  by  one  of 
my  men  while  arranging  it  for  its  first  use.  Subse- 
quently other  matters  took  up  my  attention,  so  that  it 
was  not  replaced.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  may 
wish  further  to  investigate  this  question,  I  will  describe 
this  arrangement. 

A  spiral  spring  about  a  foot  long  and  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  in  exterior  diameter,  the  Coils  of  which  were 
in  close  contact  with  one  another,  was  bought  for  a  few 
cents  at  a  hardware  store.  The  terminal  wires  of  this 
spring  were  each  formed  into  a  closed  eye.  To  one  of 
these  eyes,  which  we  will  call  the  "fish-eye"  for  the 
sake  of  a  name,  a  cord  was  to  be  attached  leading  to 
the  fishing-line,  to  which  it  was  to  be  fastened  beyond 
the  rod.  To  the  other  eye,  which  we  will  call  the 
"reel-eye,"  was  attached  a  strong  cord  to  hold  the 
spring  against  the  pull  of  the  fish.  Thus,  in  action,  the 
fish  would  pull  upon  the  fish-end  of  the  spring,  while 
the  reel-end  was  held  fast.  This  would  stretch  the 
spring,  elongating  it  more  or  less  in  proportion  to  the 
strain  imposed. 

Clearly,  if  after  we  were  rid  of  the  fish,  and  provided 
the  spring  had  not  been  stretched  beyond  its  elastic 
limit — which  could  be  ascertained  at  once  by  noting 
whether  the  coils  of  the  spring  were  in  their  original 


Leaders,  137 

close  contact  or  not — it  would  require  exactly  the  same 
strain  to  again  extend  the  spring  to  the  same  length. 
It  is  also  equally  clear  that  this  strain  could  be  reap- 
plied, and,  at  the  same  time,  be  measured  by  a  spring- 
balance.  Therefore  the  point  to  be  automatically  reg- 
istered was  simply  this :  how  far  had  the  spring  been 
pulled  out — that  is,  how  much  had  it  been  elongated  ? 
Now  suppose  we  fasten  across  the  last  coil  at  the  reel- 
end  of  the  spring  a  piece  of  wood  or  brass  with  a  small 
hole  through  it  in  line  with  the  axis  of  the  spring.  Now 
let  us  thread  a  string — which  we  will  call  the  "meas- 
uring-cord " — through  this  hole,  and  leading  it  length- 
wise inside  the  spring,  fasten  it  firmly  to  the  fish-end  of 
the  spring.  The  cord  must  so  fit  the  hole  in  the  brass 
or  wood,  that  while  it  may  easily  be  pulled  through  it 
in  either  direction,  it  will  stay  where  it  is  left. 

The  result  will  be  that,  when  the  spring  is  stretched 
out,  the  measuring-cord  is  pulled  through  the  hole  in  the 
wood  or  brass  at  the  reel-end  of  the  spring.  When  the 
strain  is  removed  and  the  spring  returns  to  its  original 
length,  the  measuring-cord  will  not  repass  the  hole,  but 
fold  up  inside  the  spring.  Now  if  we  mark  the  meas- 
uring-cord just  outside  the  hole  by  nipping  it  there  in 
a  split-stick,  or  tying  a  different-colored  string  tight 
around  it,  we  can  then  pull  out  as  much  of  the  measur- 
ing-cord as  is  inside  the  spring,  apply  a  spring-balance 
to  the  fish-end  of  the  spring  and  pull  the  spring  out  till 
the  measuring-cord  is  drawn  through  its  hole  to  the 
same  point  as  before.  The  spring  will  then  have  been 
elongated  to  the  same  extent  as  before,  the  strain  re- 
quired to  do  this  can  be  read  from  the  spring-balance, 
and  we  know  just  how  much  the  fish  really  pulled  at 
its  maximum  effort. 


138  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

This  device,  as  I  have  described  it,  was  intended  for 
salmon.  A  much  weaker  and  smaller  spring  should  be 
used  for  trout. 

Of  course,  in  actual  fishing,  the  spring  of  the  rod,  the 
click  of  the  reel,  and  the  friction  of  the  line  through  the 
rings  in  running  out  all  operate  as  safety-valves,  so  that 
the  fish  pulls  against  a  yielding  resistance  and  is  not 
permitted  to  match  its  full  strength  against  that  of  the 
leader.  Still,  some  definite  knowledge  of  the  actual 
strength  of  trout  is  of  interest,  even  though  it  need  not 
be  overcome  in  its  entirety  in  actual  fishing. 

Therefore,  a  reasonably  fine  leader,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  circumstances  under  which  it  is  to  be 
used,  but  of  strictly  first-class  material,  is  recommended. 
Test  it  frequently.  See  to  it  that  it  never  be  bent  when 
dry,  and  especially  that  no  one  step  on  it  whether  dry 
or  wet — an  accident  quite  likely  to  happen  when  mount- 
ing the  rod  at  the  beginning,  or  taking  it  apart  at  the 
conclusion  of  a  day's  fishing. 

Remember  it  is  the  large  fish  that  exact  the  penalty 
for  negligence  of  this  kind.  There  is  no  medicine  for  a 
mind,  stricken  by  such  a  loss  and  so  caused.  Over  most 
misfortunes  time  kindly  draws  the  veil  of  oblivion,  but 
this  wound  never  cicatrizes.  I  meet  one  gentleman  fre- 
quently, but  never,  if  angling  is  mentioned,  does  he  fail 
to  mourn  over  an  eight  -  pounder  he  lost  through  the 
breaking  of  his  leader  years  ago.  This  may  be  because 
of  the  sharp  contrast  any  serious  misfortune  presents  to 
the  generally  unalloyed  happiness  of  angling,  but  what- 
ever is  the  cause,  the  fact  remains  that  such  mishaps 
dwell  in  the  recollection  long  after  every  other  associated 
incident  is  forgotten. 

Therefore  I  repeat,  test  your  leaders  carefully,  and  be 


Leaders,  139 

sure  they  are  up  to  your  work  ;  but  do  not  seek  this  re- 
sult by  using  a  cable  where  a  thread  is  adequate,  but  by 
care  in  selection  of  material,  care  in  manufacture,  and 
care  in  preservation.  If  you  do  this  you  will  never 
lose  a  fish  from  this  cause ;  if  you  do  not,  no  matter 
how  large  the  gut  you  may  employ,  it  will  sooner  or 
later  play  you  false. 


140  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taclde, 


CHAPTER  K 

REELS. 

However  useful  the  later  forms  of  reel,  which  can 
be  changed  from  a  click  to  a  multiplier  at  will,  may  be 
where  casting  the  minnow  is  the  usual,  and  casting  the 
fly  the  exceptional  method  of  fishing,  all  the  authorities 
agree  that  for  fly-fishing  pure  and  simple  a  plain  click- 
reel  is  the  best. 

The  spool,  or  part  on  which  the  line  is  wound,  should 
be  quite  narrow — say  from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of 
an  inch  wide.  The  narrower  this  is,  the  less  attention 
need  be  given  to  the  distribution  of  the  line  on  the  spool 
when  reeling  in.  With  a  wide  reel  the  line,  unless 
watched,  has  a  tendency  to  bunch  in  one  place.  From 
this  bunch  Some  of  the  lateral  coils  slip  off  sideways, 
and  thus  become  loose ;  these  become  involved  with 
the  succeeding  turns  of  the  line,  which  then  fouls  and 
refuses  to  render.  This  state  of  affairs  is  not  only  very 
annoying,  but  it  is  also  exceedingly  dangerous ;  since, 
should  this  happen  when  any  fish  of  a  size  the  angler 
would  regret  to  lose  is  fast,  something  will  probably 
break  and  the  fish  escape. 

Another  point  of  importance  is  the  handle  of  the  reel. 
This  should  be  so  arranged  that  when  the  line  is  drawn 
from  the  reel  preparatory  to  the  back  cast,  the  loop  so 
formed  will  find  no  point  of  attachment  on  the  handle, 
should  it  be  accidentally  thrown  over  it ;   for  if  this 


Reels,  141 

happens  and  the  line  catches,  the  reel  is  locked  and  the 
line  will  not  render.  An  ordinary  unprotected  crank- 
handle,  therefore,  should  never  be  allowed  on  a  reel  for 
fly-fishing.  Two  preventive  methods  are  in  use :  first, 
using  a  mere  button  attached  to  a  circular  plate  for  a 
handle  ;  and  second,  protecting  the  ordinary  crank-handle 
by  providing  the  side  plate  with  a  flange,  thus  forming  a 
recess  within  which  the  handle  revolves.  The  object  is  to 
prevent  the  slack  line  from  passing  between  the  plate  and 
the  crank.  Either  of  these  methods  accomplishes  this 
purpose  ;  while,  should  the  line  pass  over  the  handle,  its 
shape  is  such  that  the  line  slips  off,  and  thus  disengages 
itself  automatically. 

Another  desideratum  in  a  reel  for  fly-fishing  is  that 
the  click  should  be  as  light  as  possible,  yet  offer  suffi- 
cient resistance  to  prevent  the  reel  from  overrunning. 
The  friction  of  the  line  through  the  rings  and  in  the 
water  is  quite  enough,  when  supplemented  by  rather  a 
feeble  click,  to  impose  sufficient  load  upon  the  fish.  It 
is  however  a  matter  of  the  first  importance  that  the  line 
be  at  all  times  solidly  wound  upon  the  reel,  since  other- 
wise snarls  will  occur  and  the  line  refuse  to  render — 
always  at  the  most  inopportune  moment.  With  too 
light  a  click  the  reel  is  apt  to  overrun  a  little  every 
time  the  line  is  drawn  out,  and  this  danger  cannot  be 
avoided. 

No  music  is  so  sweet  to  the  angler's  ear  as  the  whirr 
of  the  reel,  for  it  announces  not  only  the  triumph  of  his 
individual  skill  in  tempting  the  fish  to  forget  their  habit- 
ual caution,  but  it  promises  the  pleasure  of,  and  a  happy 
issue  to,  the  coming  contest.  Therefore  I  prefer  one 
which  speaks  with  a  crisp,  clear  voice,  though  of  course 
this  is  of  no  practical  value  beyond  increasing  the  pleas- 


143 


Fly-rods  <md  Fly-tackle. 


ure  of  him  that  uses  it;  but  this  it  does,  at  least  in  my 
own  case,  to  no  small  degree. 

This  portion  of  the  reel  should  be  well  made,  for  the 
wear-and-tear  upon  it  is  great.  The  spring,  pawl,  and 
click-wheel  should  all  be  made  of  tempered  steel ;  while 
the  pivot  upon  which  the  pawl  vibrates  should  be  sup- 
ported above  as  well  as  below  the  pawl,  or  no  man  can 
tell  when  it  will  give  out  and  refuse  to  act.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  tangles  of  line  due  to  the  reel  overrun- 
ning, and  the  annoyance  and  danger  which  follow  the 
disability  of  this  part,  to  one  who  is  accustomed  to  its 
voice,  a  sense  as  though  a  friend  were  stricken  dumb 
follows,  when  it  should,  yet  does  not  speak. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  old  method  of  placing 
the  parts  which  compose  the  click  within  a  box  upon  the 
outside  of  the  reel  has  gone  out  of  fashion.  Then  these 
were  open  to  inspection  and  adjustment  both  by  mak- 
er and  purchaser,  and  they 
were  well  and  durably  made. 
Now,  but  too  frequently,  the 
pawl  is  merely  secured  by  a 
headed  pin  on  which  the 
pawl  works,  which  pin  has 
no  support  except  what  it 
derives  from  the  insertion 
of  one  end  into  the  side 
plate.  This  is  totally  in- 
adequate to  withstand  for 
any  length  of  time  the  rack- 
Fig.  29,  ing  to  which  it  will  be  sub- 
ject, and  to  use  such  a  reel  is 
but  to  invite  misfortune.  No  part  of  an  angler's  outfit 
should  be  more  absolutely  above  suspicion,  since,  with 


Eeels.  143 

the  facilities  commonly  at  hand,  an  accident  here  is  be- 
yond immediate  repair,  and  unless  another  reel  can  be 
had,  the  pleasure  of  his  trip  if  not  altogether  ruined,  is 
much  impaired. 

The  preceding  illustration  shows  how  this  part  should 
be  constructed.  A  is  the  click- wheel,  which  should  be 
of  hardened  steel.  The  axle  of  the  spool  is  squared  to 
receive  the  wheel  which  fits  on  this  square,  and  is  there 
secured  by  a  large-headed  screw,  a.  Thus  this  part  is  a 
fixture,  and  cannot  by  possibility  get  adrift.  The  spring, 
£,  is  rigidly  secured  to  the  side  of  the  reel  by  two  screws, 
and  should  be  actually  tempered  and  not  made  from 
wire  or  metal  which  owes  its  elasticity  solely  to  rolling, 
as  is  too  often  the  case.  C  is  the  pawl  working  on  a 
pivot,  both  ends  of  which  are  secured,  the  lower  in  a  hole 
in  the  plate  itself,  and  the  upper  in  the  cap,  D.  This 
latter  is  fastened  to  the  plate  by  two  screws  as  shown. 
Here  it  is  plain  nothing  can  get  out  of  order;  and  this 
was  the  usual  method  when  reels  were  provided  with  an 
exterior  box  in  which  the  working  parts  were  enclosed. 
This  box,  however,  was  usually  made  so  unnecessarily 
large  as  to  be  unsightly,  while  the  reels  themselves  were 
inconveniently  wide.  Consequently  these  were  super- 
seded in  popularity  by  a  narrower  reel,  of  that  form  in 
which  the  working  parts  constituting  the  click  are  placed 
between  one  side  of  the  spool  and  its  adjacent  side  plate. 

Though  some  reels  of  this  form  are  well  made  in  this 
respect,  still  by  far  the  greater  part  are  not;  and  brass 
click-wheels  and  brass  pawls  inadequately  supported,  and 
wire  springs  riveted  to  the  side  plate  of  the  reel,  are 
the  usual  components  of  the  click.  Of  course  brass  is 
totally  unfit  as  a  material  for  parts  destined  to  such  se- 
vere usage,  and  cannot  wear  for  any  length  of  time. 


144  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tachle. 

These  defects  only  become  apparent  in  actual  use  on  the 
stream,  to  the  utter  demoralization  of  the  angler.  There- 
fore a  reel  so  made  should  be  rejected ;  and  that  such 
should  not  be  bought  unawares,  the  dealer  should  be 
questioned  as  to  how  the  click  is  made,  or  the  buyer 
should  insist  that  the  reel  be  taken  apart.  Indeed,  if 
he  does  not  already  know  how  to  do  this,  he  should 
insist  on  being  shown,  since  annual  cleaning,  oiling,  etc., 
will  be  advisable,  and  he  should  be  able  to  do  this  with- 
out injury  to  the  reel  by  experimental  efforts  directed  to 
this  end. 

Another  objection  to  the  j'eel  as  at  present  made, 
though  by  no  means  so  serious,  is  the  smallness  of  the 
axle  on  which  the  line  is  wound.  This  seldom  exceeds 
the  diameter  of  an  ordinary  lead-pencil.  Thus  at  first 
hardly  an  inch  of  line  is  taken  up  to  a  complete  revolu- 
tion of  the  spool,  while  it  is  always  retrieved  with  a 
slowness  neither  desirable  nor  necessary.  Some  seek  to 
overcome  this  by  first  enlarging  the  axle  with  ordinary 
twine,  upon  which  the  line  is  then  wound,  others  by 
using  multiplying  or  automatic  reels. 

The  illustration  on  the  following  page  shows  the  form 
of  reel  I  make  for  my  own  use,  and  it  is  the  best  in  prin- 
ciple of  which  I  have  knowledge. 

In  this  reel  each  side  of  the  spool  is  cast  separately. 
These  are  faced  off  on  the  inner  sides,  soft-soldered  to- 
gether, and  six  holes  equally  spaced  are  drilled  through 
both.  Thus  these  holes  correspond  exactly.  I  then 
unsolder  the  sides.     Then  six  short  wires  (a  a  a  in  the 

diagram)    are  made   of  this  form,       i  > 

and  by  inserting  the  smaller  ends  ^ "^ 


in  the  holes,  and  soft  -  soldering,  and  then  riveting  the 
ends  down,  the  sides  of  the  spool  are  rigidly  and  per- 


Reds,  145 

manently  joined  together.  It  is  then  finished  as  though 
it  were  one  single  piece.  The  line  is  then  fastened  to 
one  of  these  wires,  and  the  first  revolution  of  the  han- 
dle takes  in  about  four  inches  of  line.  All  the  click 
machinery  is  contained  in  the  box,  B.    The  handle,  -4, 


Fig.  30. 

is  attached  to  an  ordinary  crank,  united  to  the  shaft 
by  a  square  bearing  and  secured  by  a  screw.  The 
flange,  (7,  covers  the  crank,  and  prevents  the  line  from 
fouling  it. 

Automatic  reels  in  which  a  spring  is  coiled  by  with- 
drawing the  line,  and  the  reaction  of  which  is  supposed 
to  retrieve  it,  have  been  made  and  are  upon  the  market. 
10 


146  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tachle. 

I  have  never  used  one,  but  the  reports  that  I  receive 
from  those  who  have,  do  not  bias  me  in  their  favor. 
Irrespective  of  the  question  of  whether  they  do  or  do  not 
do  in  practice  what  is  claimed  for  them  in  theory,  they 
certainly,  if  good  for  anything,  greatly  reduce  the  margin 
for  skill  and  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  angler,  and 
tend  in  my  opinion  to  degrade  the  art  to  the  level  of 
pot-fishing. 

Of  what  material  the  reel  should  be  composed  remains 
to  be  considered.  Brass  and  german-silver,  or  these  metals 
combined  with  celluloid  or  rubber,  are  usually  employed 
and  give  good  results.  I  prefer  an  all  metal  reel,  since 
metal  affords  a  more  substantial  hold  to  the  fastenings 
of  the  click-machinery  than  rubber  or  celluloid.  The  lat- 
ter save  weight,  but  I  do  not  consider  this  as  important 
as  some  do  in  trout-fishing,  where  the  reel  is  habitually 
located  below  the  hand.  A  moderate  weight  helps  to 
counterpoise  the  rod,  and  thus  overcome  the  leverage  of 
the  longer  portion  against  the  angler ;  and  we  all  know 
it  is  this  leverage,  rather  than  the  actual  weight  of  the 
rod,  which  causes  fatigue. 

Reels  made  of  aluminum  have  been  on  the  market 
and  were  at  one  time  popular,  particularly  with  those 
who  had  never  used  them,  on  the  ground  that  they 
saved  weight.  This  they  undoubtedly  did.  But  when 
this  has  been  said,  all  that  can  be  said  in  their  favor  has 
been  said. 

When  this  metal  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  dollar 
and  a  quarter  an  ounce  and  few  were  practically  famil- 
iar with  its  characteristics,  great  hope  was  entertained 
of  its  future  utility,  could  but  a  cheap  method  of  pro- 
duction be  discovered.  This  has  been  done,  and,  thanks 
to  the  electric  furnace,  aluminum  can  now  be  had  in 


Reds.  147 

any  quantity  and  in  almost  any  form  at  less  than  fifty 
cents  a  pound. 

Nor  were  these  hopes  without  reason.  Its  low  spe- 
cific gravity,  but  two  and  seven-tenths  heavier  than 
water,  and  its  wide  distribution,  being  the  third  most 
abundant  of  the  elements,  justified  great  expectations. 
It  had  been  on  the  market  but  a  short  time  as  a  com- 
mercial product  when  I  heard  it  characterized  by  one 
of  the  most  eminent  chemists  of  Europe  as  "  the  metal 
of  disappointment." 

For  reels,  at  all  events,  it  is  a  wretched  metal.  It  is 
little  harder  than  zinc,  and  consequently  wholly  unfit 
for  the  bearings  for  the  axle  of  the  spool  of  the  reel.  It 
can  be  soldered  only  with  difliculty,  and  then  not  well 
soldered.  Unless  some  method  has  been  recently  dis- 
covered, it  cannot  be  electro-plated.  It  is  very  sensitive 
to  alkaline  solutions,  sea  water,  and  perspiration.  It  is 
miserable  stuff  to  turn,  drill,  and  tap,  and  chokes  up 
files  in  an  exasperating  manner.  I  have  made  four  reels 
of  it,  bushing  the  bearings  for  the  axle  of  the  spool 
with  steel  collars,  and  nearly  broke  my  heart  over  them. 
After  giving  it  up  in  despair  a  dozen  times,  I  finally 
succeeded  in  blackening  the  outside  plates  with  plati- 
num bichloride.  As  long  as  they  were  kept  in  lavender, 
so  to  speak,  they  seemed  to  receive  unqualified  praise 
from  my  angling  friends.  But  if  rained  on  in  the  after- 
noon, they  were  covered  the  next  morning  with  a  white 
efflorescence  disgusting  to  see. 

In  brief,  as  a  reel-material  aluminum  merits  little 
consideration. 

But  if  alone  and  by  itself  aluminum  is  of  little  value 
to  the  angler,  its  alloys  with  copper  are  quite  another 
matter.     That  composed  of  ninety  parts  of  copper  and 


148  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

ten  parts  of  aluminum  some  authorities  assert  to  be  the 
most  rigid  metal  known.  It  is  of  a  red-gold  color,  tar- 
nishes with  reluctance,  is  somewhat  lighter  than  brass 
or  german-silver,  and  will  solder.  For  reels  and  rod- 
trimmings,  now  that  it  should  be  cheaper  than  german- 
silver,  it  seems  well  worthy  serious  consideration. 

All  are  agreed  that  the  reel  for  a  single-handed  fly-rod 
should  be  located  below  the  hand,  but  there  is  some  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  whether  it  should  be  at  the  ex- 
treme butt  or  farther  up.  If  at  the  extreme  butt,  it  is 
claimed  to  counterbalance  the  longer  portion  of  the  rod 
more  efficiently,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  generally  there 
placed.  For  small  fish  this  unquestionably  answers  well. 
But  no  man  can  stand  the  continued  strain  of  playing  a 
large  fish  at  arm's-length.  The  butt  is  then  supported 
against  the  body,  and  if  the  reel  is  located  too  low  down, 
a  blow  in  the  stomach  is  received  from  the  hand  at  every 
revolution  of  the  reel-handle.  For  this  reason  it  is  my 
practice  to  secure  the  reel  by  inserting  one  end  of  the 
reel-plate  under  a  band  just  below  the  hand,  instead  of 
below  the  butt-cap  itself,  fastening  the  other  end  by  a 
sliding  band  in  the  usual  manner.  I  then  reduce  the 
length  of  that  part  of  the  handle  appropriated  to  the 
reel  as  much  as  possible,  and  yet  retain  sufficient  length 
to  insure  convenient  manipulation  of  the  reel  when  the 
butt  is  supported  against  the  body. 

For  the  benefit  of  such  as  make  their  own  reels,  I  give 
the  following  method  of  tempering  the  spring,  taught 
me  by  one  of  the  best  tool-makers  in  this  country.  With 
nothing  beyond  the  same  verbal  instructions  here  given 
to  guide  me,  I  have  never  failed  to  produce  a  spring  of 
apparently  perfect  temper. 

Having  turned  and  filed  my  spring  out  of  a  plate  of 


Reels.  141 

the  best  obtainable  steel,  about  ^  of  an  inch  thick,  and 
drilled  the  screw  holes,  I  next  polish  out  every  trans- 
verse scratch.  After  hardening  the  spring  in  water  in 
the  usual  way,  I  heat  some  sperm-oil  in  a  small  vessel 
until  it  takes  fire.  Securing  my  spring  to  a  wire,  I  sub- 
merge it  in  the  burning  oil  until  I  think  both  are  at  the 
same  temperature,  and  then  withdraw  it,  ignite  the  ad- 
hering oil,  and  allow  it  to  burn  off.  Having  repeated 
this  three  times,  I  immediately  swing  it  around  my  head 
until  it  is  cold. 


150  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taclcle» 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BODS  AND  ROD  MATERIAL. 

In  no  matter  pertaining  to  the  art  of  fly-fishing  is 
there  such  discordance  of  opinion  as  in  regard  to  the 
proper  action  and  balance  of  the  rod.  In  nothing  does 
the  old  adage  "  what  is  one  man's  meat  is  another  man's 
poison"  more  fully  apply. 

The  lengths  preferred  by  different  anglers,  all  thor- 
oughly experienced  and  skilled,  vary  in  about  the  same 
proportion  as  do  the  noses  on  their  respective  faces. 

Perhaps  the  extreme  limits  now  used  in  this  coun- 
try lie  between  twelve  feet  and  eight  feet  six  inches. 
Abroad,  until  recently,  twelve  feet  was  considered  rather 
a  short  rod.  Here  the  tendency  is  decidedly  to  shorten 
and  lighten  the  rod,  and  those  of  eleven  feet  will  even 
now  only  be  found  in  the  hands  of  veterans,  in  whose 
ideas  change  finds  no  place. 

The  American  angler  regards  the  fly-fishing  outfit  of 
our  transatlantic  cousins  with  mingled  admiration  and 
surprise — admiration  for  the  filmy  leader  and  the  ex- 
quisite flies — but  astonishment  approaching  almost  to 
incredulity  at  the  engine  with  which  these  are  said  to  be 
propelled.  The  rod  and  the  tackle  seem  to  him  utterly 
incongruous,  like  wedding  a  man  of  eighty-five  to  a  girl 
of  sixteen. 

Francis  Francis,  in  his  book  on  "  Angling,"  gives  a 
t^ble  of  the  length  and  weight  of  four  single-handed 


Rods  and  Rod  Material.  151 

fly-rods,  which  he  evidently  regards  as  about  the  proper 
thing,  as  follows : 

Maker.  Weight.  Length. 

1.  Gould 13  ounces  12  drachms.  12  feet  8  inches. 

2.  Cheek 14       "        6       "  11    "    7      " 

3.  Bownes 13       "         4       "  11     "    8      " 

4.  Aldred 13       "        8       "  12    "    4|    " 

No  wonder  he  recommends  that  a  double-handed  rod 
should  be  used  in  preference  to  a  single-handed,  giving 
the  following,  among  other  reasons,  for  his  preference  : 
"But  to  fish  a  whole  day  with  a  single-handed  rod  is 
very  trying  to  the  forearm,  and  more  particularly  to  the 
grasp  of  the  right  hand.  Many  a  time  has  my  hand  and 
arm  ached  so  after  a  long  spell  of  casting,  that  I  have 
been  compelled  to  leave  off  to  rest  them." 

It  would  be  indeed  surprising  were  this  not  so.  After 
all,  what  are  we  after — what  is  the  end  in  view  ?  It  is 
not  merely  obtaining  possession  of  the  fish,  for  that  re- 
sult can  be  had  at  far  less  cost  and  much  greater  certain- 
ty with  a  silver  hook  in  the  fish-market.  Recreation  and 
amusement  are  the  objects  anglers  seek  —  British  and 
American  alike  ;  and  therefore  it  seems  reasonable  to 
conclude,  that  whatever  methods  and  whatever  appliances 
best  conduce  to  these  results,  are  the  best  in  themselves 
even  though  the  total  catch  be  a  little  diminished  thereby. 

Should  this  meet  the  eye  of  a  British  angler,  let  me 
recommend  him  to  try  one  of  our  rods — or  one  there 
made  on  our  plan,  say  ten  or  even  eleven  feet  long, 
and  from  six  to  even  nine  ounces  in  weight.  And  if 
from  some  local  peculiarity  of  fish  or  water,  of  which 
we  are  ignorant  and  cannot  imagine,  this  does  somewhat 
diminish  his  total  catch,  still  we  believe  the  increased 
comfort  and  pleasure  the  use  of  such  a  rod  must  afford 


15a  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

over  the  poles  of  the  preceding  table,  will  induce  a  will- 
ing consent  to  the  sacrifice. 

While  the  foregoing  was  as  true  when  written  in  1883 
as  any  such  sweeping  generalization  is  likely  to  be,  the 
logic  of  events  has  since  caused  the  English  practice  to 
approximate  much  more  nearly  to  our  own.  I  have 
seen  numbers  of  English  rods  in  the  last  five  years, 
which,  except  perhaps  in  the  matter  of  ferrules  and 
mountings,  would  in  all  respects  meet  the  approval  of 
any  American  angler. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  tendency  of  late  years  in 
this  country  has  been  to  still  further  shorten  and  lighten 
the  rod.  But  reason  should  have  weight  in  all  things 
of  this  kind — at  first  progressive  reason,  later  conserva- 
tive reason.  The  one  favors  change  ;  the  other  opposes 
further  change  when  the  limit  of  reasonable  change  in 
that  direction  has  been  reached.  Now,  has  not  this 
limit  been  reached,  or  perhaps  even  somewhat  over- 
passed, in  the  eight-foot,  three-and-a-half -ounce  rods  one 
now  sees  in  our  larger  tackle-shops  ?  In  fishing  quick 
water,  where  the  current  always  straightens  the  line, 
and  the  conditions  thus  favor  the  back  cast,  where  there 
is  no  wind  or  a  favorable  wind,  where  the  leader  is  of 
the  thinnest  and  the  flies  very  small,  and  where  a  half- 
pound  trout  is  about  the  limit  of  reasonable  expectation, 
they  may  do  pretty  well.  When  confined  to  such  a 
sphere  of  action  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  anything 
to  be  said  against  them,  beyond  that  the  user  would 
probably  take  more  fish  with  a  somewhat  longer  and 
more  potent  rod. 

But  on  slack  water,  or  in  the  open  where  the  winds 
of  heaven  have  full  play,  the  use  of  such  rods  not  only 
almost  hopelessly  handicaps  the  angler,  but  is  a  positive 


Rods  and  Bod  Material,  153 

source  of  danger  to  him.  Twice  in  my  angling  experi- 
ence have  I  been  obliged  to  cut  a  hook,  fastened  there 
on  the  back  cast,  from  the  face  of  a  companion  who 
considered  the  use  of  a  feather-weight  rod  a  point  of 
honor.  It  is  astonishing  how  tough  at  least  some  of 
the  muscles  of  the  face  are.  In  both  cases  I  stripped 
the  fly  from  the  hook  and  endeavored  to  bring  out  the 
point  and  draw  the  rest  of  the  hook  through,  but,  after 
applying  all  the  force  I  dared,  was  obliged  to  resort  to 
the  knife,  for  fear  of  breaking  off  the  hook  in  the  flesh. 

It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  the  sphere  of  the  feath- 
er-weight rod  is  confined  to  rapid  sheltered  streams  ;  and 
this  not  only  for  the  reasons  already  stated,  but  because 
its  lifting  power  for  the  back  cast  is  less  than  a  more 
potent  rod.  A  rapid  current  may  be  made  in  part  to 
neutralize  this  difficulty,  since  if,  when  it  is  time  for  the 
back  cast,  the  line  be  allowed  to  run  down  stream  to  its 
full  extent  and  then  checked  until  the  force  of  the  cur- 
rent has  thrown  the  flies  to  the  surface,  the  whole  lifting 
power  of  the  rod  is  available  for  the  back  cast.  Of  course, 
on  water  having  little  or  no  current  this  cannot  be  done. 

As  to  the  action  preferred  in  a  fly-rod,  even  greater  dis- 
cordance of  opinion  is  found.  One  likes  a  rod  stiff  as  a 
poker  for  the  lower  third,  and  withy  for  the  remainder 
of  its  length.  Another  will  look  at  nothing  not  stiff  in 
butt  and  tip,  and  sloppy  in  the  middle  joint.  A  third 
must  have  plenty  of  action  in  the  butt,  and  not  much 
elsewhere ;  a  fourth  uniform  action  from  the  handle  to 
the  tip,  but  quite  stiff  withal ;  a  fifth  the  same  general 
spring,  but  great  flexibility;  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter.  Therefore  the  writer,  when  he  describes  what  a 
fly-rod  should  be,  gives  but  his  own  personal  preference, 
from  which  many  a  better  angler  will  dissent. 


154  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

All  will  admit  that  comfort  in  use,  efficiency  in  casting 
the  fly,  and  power  to  control  and  land  the  fish  after  it  is 
fastened,  are  the  desiderata ;  strength  to  withstand  the 
incidental  strain,  and  elasticity  to  recover  on  the  removal 
of  the  deflection  caused  thereby,  being  in  all  cases  pre- 
sumed. 

It  needs  no  Sir  Isaac  Newton  to  assure  us  that  with 
two  rods  of  equal  weight,  and  respectively  ten  and  twelve 
feet  long,  the  former  will  occasion  far  less  fatigue  than 
the  latter;  since,  while  the  shorter  arm  of  the  lever  is 
equal  in  both  cases,  the  longer  arm,  which  is  to  do  the 
work,  is  greater  in  the  latter.  Nay,  further,  even  though 
the  shorter  rod  exceed  in  actual  weight,  still  it  may  re- 
tain its  advantage  in  this  respect. 

The  importance  of  this  consideration  to  one  who  at- 
tempts to  cast  from  early  mom  to  dewy  eve,  as  does 
every  fisherman  whose  days  on  the  stream  are  few  and 
far  between,  cannot  well  be  exaggerated.  Whether  the 
latter  half  of  the  day  shall  be  a  toil  or  a  pleasure,  is  de- 
termined thereby. 

As  to  efficiency  in  casting  the  fly,  certainly  none  of 
the  hundreds  who  witnessed  the  fly-casting  tournament 
at  Central  Park,  in  New  York  City,  on  October  16, 1883, 
and  saw  a  fly  cast  eighty-five  feet  with  a  ten-foot  rod 
weighing  only  four  and  three-eighths  ounces,  will  ques- 
tion the  ability  of  a  ten-foot  rod  of  six  and  a  half  to 
seven  ounces  to  meet  all  reasonable  expectations  in 
this  respect.  To  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  these 
events,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  caster  stands  on  a 
platform  one  foot  above  the  water,  built  out  at  a  right 
angle  to,  and  about  thirty  feet  distant  from  the  shore. 
The  contestants  thus  cast  parallel  with  the  shore,  and 
beside  a  rope  supported  by  small  floats  placed  five  feet 


^ 


Rods  and  Rod  Material.  155 

apart.  To  the  floats  marking  each  ten  feet,  appropri- 
ately numbered  tin  tags  are  attached,  indicating  the  dis- 
tance from  the  edge  of  the  platform.  The  weight  and 
length  of  each  of  the  competing  rods  is  accurately  ascer- 
tained, and  the  divisions  on  the  rope  are  verified  by  the 
judges  before  the  contest  takes  place. 

The  spectators  occupy  the  bank,  while  the  judges  note 
the  results  from  a  boat  on  the  other  side  of  the  rope,  the 
boat  being  moved  to  and  fro  as  circumstances  require. 
The  distance  between  the  edge  of  the  platform  and  where 
the  tail-fly  strikes  the  water  is  taken  as  the  length  of  the 
cast.  A  possible  error  of  eighteen  inches  in  the  deter- 
mination of  this  would  be  a  very  liberal  allowance. 

Killing  power,  and  the  ability  to  control  the  move- 
ments of  the  fish  in  those  delicious  moments  which  sep- 
arate the  rise  from  the  capture  of  the  victim,  depend 
not  on  the  length,  but  on  the  power  of  the  rod ;  and  this, 
other  things  being  equal,  must  be  greater  in  a  ten  than 
in  a  twelve  foot  rod,  since  the  leverage  against  the  con- 
trolling power  is  less. 

Induced  by  these  considerations,  and  confirmed  by  prac- 
tical experience  with  rods  from  twelve  feet  six  inches  to 
nine  feet  eight  inches  in  length,  the  writer  is  fixed  in  the 
belief  that  ten  feet  is  an  ample  length  for  any  single- 
handed  fly-rod,  and  that  with  it  any  fish  of  any  weight 
within  the  scope  of  a  single-handed  fly-rod,  can  be  as 
successfully  enticed  and  more  easily  overcome  than  with 
a  rod  of  greater  length.  If  we  add  to  this  the  difference 
of  comfort  in  the  use  of  the  one  over  the  other,  the  ques- 
tion may  well  be  asked,  why  does  any  one  who  knows 
his  business  neglect  to  avail  himself  of  these  manifest  ad- 
vantages. Is  there  no  flaw  in  your  premises — no  error  in 
your  conclusions  ?    Dear  reader,  I  sincerely  believe  both 


156  Fly^ods  and  Fly -tackle. 

to  be  sound;  nor  can  I  doubt  either,  unless  at  the  same 
time  I  call  in  question  the  most  elementary  principles  of 
natural  philosophy,  and  the  testimony  of  my  own  eyes. 

I  believe  the  sole  reason  why  a  rod  of  over  eleven  feet 
is  to-day  found  in  the  hands  of  any  experienced  angler 
in  this  country,  is  that  it  became  his  when  the  art  was 
younger  than  it  now  is,  or  when  he  was  younger  in  it; 
that  he  has  grown  accustomed  to  its  use,  and  that  he  has 
lacked  the  opportunity  or  inclination  to  try,  or  is  un- 
willing to  undergo  the  expense  of  a  shorter  and  lighter 
rod. 

One  advantage,  however,  should  in  fairness  be  accred- 
ited to  the  longer  rod,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  learn  from  the 
teachings  of  theory  and  practice,  it  is  the  only  one.  In 
fishing  for  the  small  trout  of  much-fished  waters,  so  hand- 
ling the  flies  that  the  droppers  just  dap  upon  the  surface 
undoubtedly  gives  the  best  result.  It  is  clear  the  length 
of  cast  can  be  more  varied  without  losing  this  advantage 
with  a  longer,  than  with  a  shorter  rod.  Still,  by  adjust- 
ing the  flies  on  the  leader  at  somewhat  increased  inter- 
vals, it  is  believed  that  the  disadvantage  of  the  shorter 
rod  in  this  respect  becomes  slight,  and  by  no  means  suffi- 
cient to  offset  its  other  and  decided  points  of  superiority. 

Again  and  again  has  the  writer  seen  anglers  visit  the 
Rangely  region  of  Maine  (where  brook-trout  grow  to  a 
size  elsewhere  unknown),  armed  with  a  longer  and  a  short- 
er rod.  There,  if  anywhere,  the  longer  rod  should  find 
its  fitting  place,  and  with  the  truth  of  that  opinion  firmly 
in  mind  has  the  new-comer  prepared  himself.  With  the 
longer  rod  he  intends  to  do  the  greater  part  of  his  fish- 
ing, while  confining  the  shorter  solely  to  picking  up  a 
few  of  the  little  fellows  on  the  smaller  streams.  And 
what  is  the  result?     It  follows  as  surely  as  the  wrong- 


Rods  and'  Rod  Material.  157 

doer  goes  from  bad  to  worse.  The  longer  rod  is  less 
and  less  frequently  used,  until  it  is  altogether  discarded 
for  its  shorter  rival ;  and  this  not  *'  with  malice  afore- 
thought," but  in  natural  obedience  to  the  logic  of  events. 

However  these  things  may  be,  this  at  least  is  certain  : 
to  one  escaping  but  seldom  from  the  weary  routine  of 
office-work,  to  swing  even  a  seven-ounce  rod  all  day  may 
become  a  burden,  while  to  him  whose  muscles  are  braced 
by  abundant  exercise  and  robust  health  it  seems  but  as 
a  feather's  weight.  The  truth  is,  that  there  is  in  this 
matter  no  hard  and  fast  line  where  dogmatism  may  take 
its  stand  and  say,  this  is  right  and  that  is  wrong.  Let 
each  use  that  rod  which  to  him  affords  the  most  pleasure, 
and  for  him  that  rod  is  the  best,  whether  it  be  forty  feet 
long  or  only  two. 

When  the  fly-rod  is  under  discussion,  we  not  unfre- 
quently  hear  it  urged,  as  the  highest  of  encomiums,  that 
some  particular  rod  can  be  so  bent  with  safety  that  the 
tip  will  touch  the  butt.  This  has  a  very  imposing  sound, 
well-calculated  to  impress  the  unthinking;  but  like  many 
other  statements  equally  impressive,  it  will  well  bear  a 
little  investigation.  If  the  prime  object  and  sphere  of 
usefulness  of  a  fly-rod  was  to  tickle  the  butt  with  the 
tip,  there  would  be  nothing  to  be  said.  But  this  is  not 
the  case.  To  cast  the  fly  with  fluency  and  precision, 
and  without  a  sense  of  dread  in  the  caster  when  his  line 
exceeds  the  length  of  his  rod,  lest  on  the  back  cast  he 
fasten  his  flies  in  his  own  ears — this,  and  the  power  to 
control  at  will  the  course  of  the  struggling  fish  with  an 
implement  adequate  to  any  possible  emergency,  yet  im- 
posing on  its  user  not  one  ounce  of  superfluous  labor — 
these  are  the  desiderata  in  a  fly-rod.  Every  material 
has  its  elastic  limit.     Keep  within  this,  and  anything 


158  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

will  serve  the  purpose ;  exceed  it,  and  the  very  best 
fails.  A  strip  of  the  weakest  pine  can  be  so  reduced  in 
thickness  as  to  successfully  pass  this  vaunted  test.  It  is 
absolutely  no  indication  whatever  of  the  strength  and 
elasticity  of  the  material  of  which  a  rod  is  composed, 
unless  at  the  same  time  its  length  and  calibre  are  taken 
into  the  account.  To  the  judicious,  therefore,  a  state- 
ment of  this  kind  not  only  utterly  fails  to  convince  him 
of  the  excellence  of  the  rod  in  question,  but  even  raises 
in  his  mind  a  strong  presumption  that  every  quality  of 
real  value  has  been  sacrificed,  for  what  he  will  hardly  fail 
to  think  is  a  catchpenny  purpose.  There  are  good  rods 
with  which  this  may  be  done,  but  in  my  judgment  they 
would  have  been  far  better,  and  practically  much  more 
agreeable  and  efficient  in  use,  had  they  been  given  suffi- 
cient "backbone"  to  render  this  impossible.  I  have 
stood  upon  a  boom  of  logs,  and,  with  a  split-bamboo  of 
some  eight  ounces  weight,  successfully  withstood  every 
effort  of  a  freshly  fastened  four-and-a-half-pound  trout, 
in  the  full  vigor  of  perfect  health,  to  regain  the  shelter 
from  which  he  had  been  seduced  by  the  delusive  fly. 
The  rod  bent  under,  and  recovered  from  each  fresh  ef- 
fort, as  we  sometimes  see  the  water-level  fluctuate  in 
the  glass  gauge  of  a  steam-boiler — the  resistance  always 
in  exact  equilibrium  with  the  pressure  upon  it.  The 
tip  never  came  near  the  butt,  though  at  times  perhaps 
nearly  upon  the  same  level ;  nor  was  this  a  very  stiff  rod, 
nor  one  with  which  casting  was  other  than  a  pleasure. 
The  truth  is,  the  ultimate  strain  which  a  fish  can  impose 
is  grossly  exaggerated  in  public  opinion,  as  we  have  en- 
deavored to  show  elsewhere.  A  firm,  but  above  all  things 
a  steady  pressure,  the  most  vigorous  of  them  strive  in 
vain  successfully  to  resist.     The  result  for  some  time 


Eods  cmd  Rod  Material.  159 

may  fluctuate  in  the  balance,  but  the  angler's  pan,  acci- 
dents excepted,  invariably  proves  the  heavier  at  last. 

Probably  a  decent  fly-rod  will  bear  with  impunity  a 
steady  strain,  considerably  in  excess  of  anything  under 
which  the  angler  can  hold  it  up.  The  proximate  cause 
why  rods  fail  in  actual  fly-fishing  is  not  always  free 
from  obscurity.  The  angle  which  the  line  bears  to  the 
rod  when  the  strain  is  applied,  or  in  other  words  the  di- 
rection of  the  strain  with  relation  to  the  axis  of  the  rod, 
is  unquestionably  an  important  factor.  If  the  line  and 
the  rod  form  one  straight  line,  the  tensile  strength  of 
the  material  under  a  direct  pull  is  alone  involved;  while, 
if  the  line  and  the  rod  are  approximately  parallel,  the 
strain  assumes  many  of  the  characteristics  of  a  shock, 
the  rod  has  not  time  to  bend  and  thus  distribute  the 
load  it  cannot  bear  when  localized,  and  it  fails.  I  was 
fishing  with  a  friend  from  an  extemporized  raft  anchored 
before  the  outlet  of  a  lake,  into  the  mouth  of  which  we 
were  casting.  It  was  a  time  and  place  for  large  trout, 
and  we  had  been  having  fine  sport.  For  some  twenty 
minutes  we  had  not  had  a  rise,  so  we  concluded  to  have 
a  quiet  smoke,  and  rest  the  water  for  a  while.  He  had 
a  rod  of  my  own  make,  quite  new,  the  butt  and  middle 
joint  of  thoroughly  tested  and  approved  greenheart. 
He  turned  to  me  for  some  purpose,  the  rod  perpendicu- 
lar, and  his  fly  resting  on  the  water  not  three  feet  from 
him.  Suddenly  a  splendid  trout,  a  little  whale  in  dig- 
nity of  size,  rose  from  under  the  raft  and  seized  that  fly. 
The  middle  joint  shivered  as  though  struck  by  light- 
ning. It  was  no  transverse  strain  that  could  produce 
such  a  break.  The  upper  part  seemed  driven  down  on 
that  below  it,  until  at  the  point  of  fracture  it  first  split 
the  wood,  and  then  scattered  it  outward  in  a  shower  of 


160  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

splinters.  It  is  unnecessary  to  inform  the  expert  that 
the  trout  at  once  unhooked  itself  and  escaped.  How 
they  almost  invariably  accomplish  this  little  trick  under 
such  circumstances,  is  another  of  those  dark  mysteries 
which  overshadow  our  art. 

But  not  to  this,  or  to  like  causes,  can  we  attribute 
many  of  the  accidents  which  fall  under  the  angler's  no- 
tice. It  is  notorious  that  rods  are  usually  broken  on 
small,  rather  than  on  large  fish,  and  this,  too,  after  they 
have  again  and  again  withstood  strains  apparently  far 
more  onerous.  Who  has  not  seen  a  rod,  the  pride  of  its 
owner  and  the  victor  in  many  a  hot  struggle,  fail  in  some 
part  under  the  mere  stress  of  casting  ?  Such  breaks,  as 
far  as  my  observation  enables  me  to  speak,  are  sharply 
transverse,  as  though  the  material  had  been  subjected  to 
a  shearing  strain.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  account 
for  this  on  the  theory  that  a  wave  of  vibration  starting 
from  the  lower,  meets  another  on  the  way  from  the  up- 
per part  of  the  rod,  and  that  the  shock  of  the  encounter 
is  the  destructive  cause.  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  ever 
been  able  to  detect  the  existence  of  any  such  waves.  I 
suppose  the  theory  requires  them  to  be  something  like 
those  which  meet  in  the  middle  of  a  rope  or  cloth, 
sharply  and  simultaneously  shaken  at  both  ends.  We 
all  know  the  sudden  kick,  so  to  speak,  to  which  this  gives 
rise,  an  impulse  not  perhaps  inadequate  to  produce  the 
result  in  question.  Though  I  have  a  constitutional  dis- 
trust of  theories  based  on  uncertain  premises,  still  I  am 
unable  to  suggest  any  more  plausible  explanation;  or, 
as  yet,  to  devise  any  experiment  adequate  to  determine 
its  truth  or  falsity,  or  point  out  the  actual  cause. 

If  this  theory  be  sound,  then  double-actioned  rods 
should  be  more  liable  to  fracture  under  these  circum- 


Rods  a/nd  Bod  Material.  161 

stances  than  single-actioned  rods,  and  limber  rods  than 
stiff  rods — and  this  I  believe  to  be  the  fact.  I  have 
never  known  it  to  happen  to  rods  of  my  make,  which 
are  of  the  stiffish  single-actioned  variety ;  still  this  may 
be  due  to  good-luck,  rather  than  the  correctness  of  their 
principle  of  construction. 

What  material  will  make  the  best  fly-rod  ? 

As  to  this,  too,  as  indeed  in  regard  to  most  other  im- 
plements of  the  art,  there  is  considerable  difference  of 
opinion. 

SPLIT-BAMBOO. 

Snecific  CTftvitv  •     ^Six-Strip  hexagonal,  rind  outside,  0.9916. 
Dpecmc  gravuy  .     Ifour.gtrip  square,  rind  inside,  0.9678. 

In  the  estimation  of  the  American  fly-fisherman  as  a 
class,  the  rent  and  glued,  or  as  it  is  now  more  generally 
termed,  the  split-bamboo  rod,  unquestionably  ranks  first. 

The  bamboo  may  be  said  to  be  a  production  of  Asia 
and  the  contiguous  islands,  though  abundant  in  South 
America,  where  some  species  not  indigenous  have  been 
introduced  and  now  flourish.  North  of  Mexico  but  one 
native  species  is  found,  and  the  same  is  true  of  Africa, 
while  Europe  has  not  even  one. 

In  Col.  Monroe's  monograph  on  this  grass,  published 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  Linnaean  Society,  vol.  xxvi.,  one 
hundred  and  seventy  distinct  species  are  described,  and 
he  says  there  are  many  more,  the  flower  of  which  he  has 
never  seen,  and  which  he  is  therefore  unable  to  classify. 
For  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  common,  if  not  general,  pecul- 
iarity of  this  plant,  that  it  flowers  but  once,  and  that 
after  years  of  growth,  and  then  dies.  This  occurs  si- 
multaneously through  large  districts,  and  is  followed  by 
the  production  of  an  edible  seed,  which  has  not  unfre- 
11 


162  Fly-rods,  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

quently  averted  a  famine  among  the  swarming  popula- 
tion of  those  countries  of  which  it  is  a  native,  when 
other  crops  have  been  blighted.  Notwithstanding  the 
length  of  time  which  precedes  maturity  and  the  pro- 
duction of  its  flower  and  seed,  its  growth  is  extremely 
rapid.  At  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  one  is 
reported  to  have  grown  forty  feet  in  forty  days,  while 
instances  are  on  record  of  from  two  to  two  and  a  half 
feet  in  a  single  day.  But  such  at  least  as  is  generally 
exported  is  not  allowed  to  attain  maturity,  but  is  cut 
annually  while  still  green,  the  succeeding  crop  springing 
up  as  shoots  from  the  still  living  roots. 

Which  of  these  many  varieties  is  best  adapted  to  our 
purpose  may  safely  be  said  to  be  unknown.  Species 
attaining  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  a  diame- 
ter of  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches,  and  an  interval  of  "  sev- 
eral feet "  between  the  nodes  or  joints,  are  known.  I 
have  myself  seen  varieties  of  small  diameter  perfectly 
solid  throughout,  and  as  stiff  and  elastic  as  tempered 
steel.  The  veteran  rod-maker  Mr.  William  Mitchell,  of 
New  York  City,  showed  me  a  solid  joint  but  little  less 
than  half  an  inch  in  diameter  planed  from  a  single  piece 
of  bamboo.  A  bow  of  South  American  origin  came 
into  his  possession,  apparently  of  bamboo,  yet  colored 
so  as  to  leave  this  in  some  doubt.  Upon  removing  the 
exterior  this  surmise  was  found  to  be  correct ;  and 
though  the  bow  was  six  feet  long,  not  the  slightest  in- 
dication of  a  node  or  knot  could  be  detected.  From 
this  he  planed  the  joint  in  question.  While  this  was 
not  as  stiff  as  a  hexagonal  joint  of  similar  size,  made  in 
the  ordinary  manner,  would  have  been,  still  it  was  nearly 
if  not  quite  equal  to  the  ordinary  run  of  greenheart, 
and  would  make  most  excellent  rod  material  could  it 


Rods  cmd  Rod  Material.  163 

but  be  had.  An  experience  of  my  own  with  large  bam- 
boo is  mentioned  hereafter  in  this  chapter. 

The  strength  and  elasticity  of  bamboo  depends  almost 
altogether  on  the  character  of  its  exterior,  the  inner  or 
pithy  portion  adding  but  little  thereto.  In  the  variety 
commonly  used,  within  perhaps  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch 
measured  from  the  outside  lie  all  its  virtues.  In  the 
larger  varieties  (or  at  least  some  of  them,  as  my  expe- 
rience proves)  this  portion  is  very  much  thicker,  as  would 
be  expected  from  the  far  greater  thickness  of  the  walls 
of  the  cane.  If,  therefore,  rods  were  made  from  such 
cane,  these  would  possess  far  greater  strength  and  far 
more  stiffness  and  elasticity  than  those  of  the  present 
day,  if  of  like  dimensions.  The  diameter  and  consequent 
weight  could  then  be  considerably  reduced,  not  only 
without  loss,  but  still  leaving  considerable  gain  in  these 
respects.  Again,  the  process  of  manufacture  would  be 
much  simplified,  since  the  bamboos  now  used  rarely  reach 
two  inches  in  diameter  at  the  butt.  This  renders  the 
exterior  quite  rounding,  and  it  cannot  be  flattened  with- 
out ruining  it  at  the  same  time.  Consequently  the  cane 
resting  on  this  convex  surface  tends  to  roll  more  or  less 
under  the  cutting  tool,  affecting  the  accuracy  of  the 
angle  if  not  carefully  watched.  From  my  own  expe- 
rience, I  should  say  that  three  times  the  skill  was  re- 
quired to  make  a  good  six-strip  joint  from  bamboo  one 
and  three-quarter  inches  in  diameter,  than  from  that  of 
four  or  five  inches.  The  waste  would  also  be  much  less, 
since  defects  in  the  cuticle  now  fatal,  would  then  be  of 
comparatively  little  consequence. 

There  are  few  fields  in  which  more  of  benefit  to  the 
angling  fraternity  may  be  hoped  from  investigation 
than  this.     The  burden  would  seem  fairly  to  fall  upon 


164  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

the  English  portion  of  the  brotherhood,  since  under  their 
flag  the  investigation  must  be  carried  on.  If  not  unrea- 
sonable, it  is  at  any  rate  useless  to  expect  this  from  the 
professional  rod-maker.  He  either  lacks  opportunity,  or 
for  business  reasons  keeps  his  information  to  himself. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  of  the  many  English  gentle- 
men now  in  India,  who  are  interested  in  fly-fishing,  and 
who  may  be  favorably  circumstanced  in  that  vast  coun- 
try, will  investigate,  and  give  the  angling  world  some 
definite  information  on  this  subject. 

Rapid  and  unceasing  as  is  communication  at  the  pres- 
ent time  between  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world,  it  is 
singular,  and  not  very  creditable,  how  vague  is  the  in- 
formation now  obtainable  in  reference  to  rod  material. 

The  variety  of  bamboo  of  which  split-bamboo  fly-rods 
are  made,  is  here  known  as  the  "  Calcutta  bamboo."  Its 
botanical  name  is  believed  to  be  Bambusa  Amndina- 
cea.  From  other  varieties  it  may  be  distinguished  by 
the  charred  marks  on  its  yellow  cuticle,  without  which 
none  seems  to  be  imported  into  this  country.  If  this  is 
the  variety,  it  may,  if  permitted  to  grow,  attain  a  height 
of  from  forty  to  fifty  feet,  and  a  diameter  of  about  three 
inches. 

No  one  in  the  least  familiar  with  this  bamboo  can 
have  failed  to  remark  these  burns,  always  present  yet 
never  alike.  To  the  split-bamboo  rod-maker  they  are  a 
perfect  nuisance,  forcing  him  to  reject  altogether  many 
a  cane  otherwise  excellent.  So  every  one,  surprised  that 
so  much  labor  should  be  expended  merely,  as  far  as  is 
apparent,  to  injure  the  cane,  naturally  asks  how  and  why 
this  is  done. 

Reasons  being  as  plenty  as  blackberries,  of  course 
there  is  no  lack  in  this  case.     But  that  these  are  not 


Rods  cmd  Rod  Material.  165 

more  consistent  than  the  finding  of  the  coroner's  jury, 
that  the  subject  of  their  deliberations  died  of  consump- 
tion from  having  been  hung  for  horse-stealing,  somewhat 
militates  against  a  perfectly  satisfactory  conclusion. 

Here  are  a  few  samples,  assigned  by  those  who  said 
they  knew  all  about  it: 

1st.  It  is  a  religious  ceremony. 

2d.  They  are  roasted  over  a  large  gridiron  to  kill  the 
larvae  of  boring  insects. 

3d.  It  is  merely  for  purposes  of  ornament. 

4th.  That  the  bamboo  grows  in  jungles,  matted  to- 
gether with  all  manner  of  climbing  and  tenacious  vines. 
That  before  they  can  be  extricated  and  separated,  the 
jungle  must  be  fired  to  destroy  these  creepers. 

5th.  That  the  canes  are  roasted  over  a  gridiron  to 
burn  off  the  leaves  and  creepers  attached  to  them,  as  the 
most  simple  and  expeditious  way  to  get  rid  of  these. 

6th.  That  it  is  done  with  a  hot  iron,  each  cane  being 
treated  separately,  merely  to  straighten  them. 

I  have  heard  others,  but  these  are  quite  sufficient  for 
liberal  exercise  of  personal  predilection,  my  own  being 
towards  a  combination  of  the  reasons  numbered  4  and 
6.  Definite  and  positive  information  on  this  point  from 
personal  observation,  preparatory  to  an  effort  to  cause  a 
discontinuance  of  the  practice  if  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary, is  greatly  to  be  desired. 

To  any  of  my  readers  who,  animated  by  the  hope  of 
obtaining  better  material  than  the  open  market  at  pres- 
ent affords,  may  desire  to  order  a  private  supply  from 
India,  I  tender  the  following  advice,  wishing  them  bet- 
ter luck  therein  than  has  fallen  to  my  lot :  Order  nothing 
but  the  butts  of  the  cane,  and  those  of  the  largest  at- 
tainable diameter,  and  unburned.      Insist  that  they  be 

8 


166  Fly-rods  cmd  Fh^-tackU, 

split  open  lengthwise  through  the  leaf- sides  of  the  cane 
before  shipment,  and  that  they  be  carried  on  the  vessel 
lashed  under  the  boats,  or  where  they  will  have  free 
access  of  air  yet  not  be  exposed  to  the  sun  and  sea- 
water. 

It  is  hazardous  to  say  anything  is  quite  impossible,  so 
you  may  succeed  in  obtaining  what  you  desire;  but  my 
own  experience  leads  me  to  believe  that  you  might  as 
hopefully  try  to  talk  a  stone  wall  out  of  its  place,  as  the 
inhabitants  of  that  country  out  of  their  accustomed  meth- 
ods of  procedure. 

In  the  Calcutta  bamboo,  strength,  lightness,  and  that 
steely  spring  which  is  the  acme  of  perfection  in  a  fly- 
rod,  are  found  to  a  degree  unequalled  in  any  other  known 
material.  But,  like  most  other  things  in  this  hollow, 
hollow  world,  it  has  its  drawbacks.  Good  bamboo — that 
which  may  truly  be  called  virtuous  in  that  it  possesses 
all  the  virtues — though  not  as  scarce  as  hens'  teeth,  is  still 
a  rare  prize  and  difficult  to  obtain.  Mediocrity  is  the 
rule  here  below,  and  with  mediocrity  of  greater  or  less 
degree  must  the  rod-maker  be  content  who  would  use 
this  material  in  quantity.  Indeed,  either  the  quality  now 
imported  has  deteriorated  when  compared  to  that  of  say 
seven  or  eight  years  ago,  or  the  writer  has  become  much 
more  exacting  in  his  choice.  While  as  to  poor  bamboo, 
that  which  may  justly  be  so  called  when  compared  to 
the  mediocrity  aforesaid  (and  such  is  by  far  the  greater 
portion  brought  to  this  country),  it  is — well,  the  English 
language  is  impotent  to  describe,  or  at  all  events  to  ex- 
aggerate, its  utter  worthlessness  for  our  purpose.  Un- 
fortunately there  is  no  test  which  any  dealer  would  per- 
mit to  determine  the  strength  of  a  split -bamboo  rod 
after  it  is  once  glued  together.    It  may  have  hardly  the 


Rods  wnd  Rod  Material,  167 

strength  of  a  piece  of  pine -wood,  and  yet  present  a 
perfect  exterior.  The  spring  and  balance  of  the  rod 
may  of  course  be  readily  tried,  until  one  is  found  which 
suits.  But  as  to  the  strength  of  material  you  are  com- 
pletely at  the  mercy  of  the  maker.  Therefore,  in  buy- 
ing a  rod  of  this  description  go  only  to  a  well-known 
maker,  or  his  agent;  for  both  have  a  reputation  to  main- 
tain, and  will  be  glad  to  make  good  any  defect  in  ma- 
terial. Also,  if  you  do  not  mind  the  extra  expense,  you 
will  do  well  to  have  two,  instead  of  a  single  middle  joint, 
for  this  part  of  the  rod  is  most  in  danger. 

There  is  still  another  objection  to  bamboo  rods.  If 
the  butt  or  middle  joint  is  broken,  except  quite  close  to 
the  ferrules,  the  break  cannot  be  spliced  so  as  to  stand, 
and  the  usefulness  of  that  joint  is  at  an  end. 

Hexagonal  split  bamboo  rods  are  now  made  in  quan- 
tity which  wholesale  as  low  as  a  dollar  and  sixty  cents 
apiece.  In  external  appearance  they  are  not  at  all  bad, 
and  not  infrequently  their  action  is  very  fair.  To  produce 
such  a  rod  of  such  a  material  at  such  a  price,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  most  rigid  economy  in  manufacture  must  be  prac- 
tised. Selection  of  material  would  seem  to  be  impossible. 
No  waste  can  be  permitted.  All  the  cane  purchased — 
good,  bad,  and  indifferent  alike — must  go  through  the  ma- 
chine. While  good  bamboo  may  be  the  best,  poor  bamboo 
is  certainly  the  worst  of  rod  materials.  While  it  cannot  be 
said  that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  occasionally  to  find  a 
serviceable  rod  among  the  many  so  produced,  the  doctrine 
of  probabilities  indicates  that  the  chance  is  very  remote. 
It  is  not  absolutely  impossible  for  the  owner  of  a  single 
ticket  to  capture  the  principal  prize  in  a  grand  lottery, 
but  his  prospects  of  so  doing  are  by  no  means  brilliant. 

I  repeat^  only  those  whose  time  is  their  own  and  whose 


168  Fly -rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

fly-fishing  lies  at  their  own  threshold  can  afford  to  exper- 
iment with  cheap  fishing  tackle. 

Some  years  ago  a  vessel  from  the  East  Indies  dis- 
charged a  cargo  of  sugar  at  this  port.  For  dunnage  to 
the  cargo,  which  was  in  mats,  large  bamboos,  some  even 
six  inches  through,  had  been  used.  When  the  vessel  had 
discharged,  these  were  thrown  out  upon  the  dock.  A 
friend  secured  two  or  three  pieces,  and  gave  me  one.  It 
was  the  toughest  and  most  elastic  bamboo  I  have  ever 
seen.  I  made  one  rod  from  it,  placing  the  rind  inside, 
and  was  so  pleased  with  it  that  the  temptation  to  make 
one  more,  and  exhaust  on  it  all  the  skill  I  possessed,  was 
irresistible.  Every  knot  was  cut  out  and  the  strips 
spliced,  so  as  to  secure  absolute  uniformity  of  action, 
and  when  the  rod  was  complete  I  was  satisfied  with  my 
work.  That  rod  became  the  bane  of  my  existence.  For 
three  seasons  I  stuck  to  it,  uniting  the  splices  again  and 
again.  Every  adhesive  substance  I  could  hear  of  was 
tried  ;  the  splices  were  carefully  wrapped  with  unwaxed 
silk,  and  then  varnished  so  as  to  paste  the  silk  down, 
and  at  the  same  time  swell  it  and  increase  the  fimmese  of 
its  embrace  upon  the  bamboo.  But  it  was  all  useleM. 
The  first  fish  struck  would  start  some  splice,  and  the  rod 
was  worthless.  Again  and  again  have  I  spliced  bamboo 
joints  for  friends  where  accident  has  occurred  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  repair  shop,  using  that  most  adhesive  of 
all  glues,  "  Russian  isinglass,"  but  they  never  stood,  nor 
do  I  think  they  can  be  made  to  stand,  for  any  length  of 
time.  Bamboo  tips,  however,  may  be  successfully  re- 
paired without  difficulty. 

Notwithstanding  this,  if  you  once  become  possessed  of 
a  really  good  bamboo  rod,  you  have  the  best  there  is — 
something  superior  to  any  wooden  rod  that  can  be  made. 


Rods  and  Bod  Material,  160 

ASH    AND    LANCEWOOD. 

Speomc  gravity:  |^:;;.^VoId!-1.083a. 

Next  in  order,  through  seniority,  comes  the  ash  and 
lancewood  rod.  The  butt  is  of  the  white-ash — that  of 
wide  grain,  and  with  the  dense  intervening  portion  white 
and  bone-like  in  texture,  is  the  kind  available  for  rods. 
An  old  billiard-cue  is  an  excellent  source  from  which  to 
derive  the  material.  If  the  grain  is  either  very  narrow 
(one- sixteenth  of  an  inch  or  less)  or  very  wide,  the  wood 
is  apt  to  be  weak.  Select  that  having  a  grain  about  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  and  nine  times  out  of  ten  it  will 
be  good.  Anything  off  the  white  in  color  is  a  bad  sign. 
Red-ash  is  worthless.  Any  redness  in  the  grain,  though 
the  more  solid  portions  are  of  good  color,  is  an  unfavor- 
able indication. 

The  middle  joint  and  tip  are  lancewood.  This  is  im- 
ported from  the  West  Indies  and  South  America  in  poles 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  long  and  three  to  ten  inches 
in  diameter.  It  is  very  stiff,  strong,  and  elastic.  Its 
quality  can  be  quite  well  judged  by  its  color,  that  of  a 
bright  yellow  being  the  best.  It  works  in  a  kindly  man- 
ner under  a  keen  plane,  and  altogether  is  an  excellent 
material,  and  the  only  one,  except  bamboo,  fit  for  tips  in 
single-handed  rods.     The  Cuban  lancewood  is  the  best. 

The  ash  and  lancewood  rod  has  gone  out  of  fashion  of 
late  years,  and  has  fallen  in  general  estimation  to  a  posi- 
tion by  no  means  commensurate  with  its  merits.  Some 
still  think  that,  take  it  all  in  all,  this  combination  makes 
the  best  of  wooden  rods,  and  it  seems  to  me  they  are 
not  very  far  wrong. 

I  have  seen  an  ash  and  lancewood  rod  do  the  most 
surprising  work. 


170  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

I  was  fishing  from  a  boat  in  Rangely  Lake  a  few  years 
since.  Just  beyond  reach  of  my  cast  another  boat  was 
anchored,  containing  an  old  gentleman  using  about  a  nine- 
ounce  rod  of  this  description  and  a  liberal  "  gob "  of 
worms. 

The  bottom  was  plainly  visible,  and  from  time  to  time 
large  trout  of  five  pounds  and  upward  lazily  swam  into 
sight,  cruising  slowly  about  in  utter  indifference  to  every- 
thing except  their  own  private  pursuits.  Six  and  seven 
pounders  were  common,  while  one  leviathan  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor,  which  I  could  not  place  at  less  than  ten 
pounds.     Oh,  how  my  heart  went  out  to  him  ! 

I  was  attending  to  my  own  affairs,  in  that  frantic 
condition  of  mind  incident  to  an  occasion  when  such 
trout  are  rising  freely,  but  positively  decline  to  acknowl- 
edge the  slightest  acquaintance  with  such  an  insect  as 
the  fly.  Again  and  again  my  fly  would  settle  in  a  swirl 
like  that  made  by  the  blade  of  an  oar,  and  that  too  be- 
fore the  fish  could  have  been  three  feet  from  the  spot. 
Every  five  minutes  the  fly  was  changed,  ranging  from 
the  smallest  gnat  to  a  good-sized  salmon-fly.  I  tried  it 
on  the  water — under  the  water — in  every  way  and  under 
every  condition  I  could  devise,  but  all  in  vain.  So  it  may 
reasonably  be  surmised  that  peace  was  not  with  me. 

Suddenly  my  guide  exclaimed,  "He's  got  one!"  I 
looked.  I  was  at  once  struck  by  the  perfect  curve  of 
the  rod,  which  was  doubled  up  to  a  degree  that  few 
could  regard  without  apprehension,  for  the  old  gentle- 
man clearly  was  handling  his  fish  "without  gloves." 
Momentarily  I  expected  to  see  it  break.  But  no  ;  ten — 
fifteen  minutes — half  an  hour  passed — and  still  the  rod 
triumphed  over  that  fearful  strain,  while  the  fish  seemed 
as  fresh  as  ever.     At  last  a  boy  climbed  a  tree  9verhang- 


Rods  and  Rod  Material.  171 

ing  the  bank  and  not  twenty  feet  distant  from  the  boat. 
No  sooner  had  he  reached  his  perch  and  taken  in  the 
situation,  than  he  shouted,  "Why  he's  got  him  by  the 
tail !"  For  at  least  an  hour  the  struggle  lasted,  and 
when,  after  landing  his  trout,  the  old  gentleman  passed 
me  on  his  way  home,  I  asked  him  if  I  might  see  it.  It 
weighed  seven  pounds  by  my  own  tested  scales,  and 
there,  sure  enough,  about  three  inches  in  front  of  the  tail 
and  on  the  right  side  was  the  wound  of  the  hook.  Per- 
mission having  been  granted  to  examine  the  rod,  no  sign 
could  be  detected  of  the  fearful  ordeal  through  which  it 
had  passed. 

If  the  amount  you  feel  willing  to  pay  for  a  rod  be 
limited,  an  ash  and  lancewood  rod  is  the  safest  invest- 
ment ;  but  select  one  in  which  the  ash  is  white  and  of 
wide  grain,  and  the  lancewood  yellow  and  free  from 
bluish  stains.  If,  however,  the  rod  is  colored,  as  is  fre- 
quently the  case,  you  cannot  judge  of  this  ;  then  you 
must  rely  on  the  maker,  and  should  buy  only  from  the 
maker,  and  from  one  who  has  a  reputation  to  sustain. 
You  will  probably  have  to  pay  a  dollar  or  two  more,  but 
you  will  get  your  money's  worth.  This  remark  holds 
good,  and  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  in  regard 
to  all  fishing-tackle. 

These  bluish  stains  so  frequently  seen  in  lancewood 
seem  not  to  be  inherent  in  the  tree,  but  to  be  due  to 
faulty  treatment  in  seasoning.  They  arise  from  storing 
the  logs  in  a  close,  damp  locality,  and  indicate  inferior 
elasticity  and  strength. 

CEDAR. 
Specific  gravity,  0.6396. 
We  will  next  consider  cedar  as  a  material. 
Such  cedar  as  is  used  in  lead-pencils  is  worthless  for 


173  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

our  purpose.  The  rod-cedar  is  darker  in  color,  harder, 
heavier,  stronger,  and  much  stiffer.  I  have  never  been 
able  to  find  it  at  the  wood-dealers  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York,  and  am  inclined  to  believe  that  if  it  is  used  at  all 
in  the  arts,  it  is  so  but  sparingly. 

The  wood  in  question  is  the  product  of  the  cedar  of 
our  northern  seaboard,  notably  of  Long  Island.  It 
grows  in  poor  soil  and  is  apt  to  be  scraggy.  Its  sap 
wood  is  white,  its  old  wood  dark  red.  Certainly  a  rod 
well  proportioned,  from  a  good,  straight-grained  speci- 
men of  this  wood,  for  lightness  and  promptness  of  ac- 
tion cannot  be  excelled.  Strain  it  as  you  will  short 
of  the  breaking  point,  it  will  take  no  set,  nor  will  any 
change  in  its  feel  show  that  its  powers  have  been  over- 
taxed. But  it  is  the  weakest  of  all  material  used  for 
that  purpose,  and  only  fit  for  a  dilettante  angler  who 
fishes  open  water  where  there  is  no  danger  of  a  foul  on 
his  back  cast,  and  who  is  ever  on  his  guard  to  give  the 
fish  no  opportunity  to  strike  his  fly  when  the  rod  is  ap- 
proaching the  perpendicular.  For  a  rod  of  this  wood 
the  ferrules  should  be  considerably  larger  than  for  the 
preceding. 

MAHOE.* 
Specific  gravity,  0.6607. 
For  this  wood  I  have  quite  a  predilection,  not  shared, 
it  must  be  confessed,  by  the  majority  of  those  who  have 
used  it.  It  is  a  native  of  Cuba,  grows  to  a  considerable 
size,  and  is  there  used  for  the  springs  of  their  peculiar 
two-wheeled  vehicle  the  "  volante."     In  color  it  closely 


♦  Rods  are  on  the  market  under  the  name  of  "  Maltese  wood,"  the 
material  of  which  I  am  unable  to  distinguish  from  mahoe. 


Rods  cmd  Bod  Material,  173 

resembles  black-walnut — indeed  it  might  well  be  mis- 
taken for  that  wood  by  a  cabinet-maker.  But  when  var- 
nished and  rubbed  down,  faint  narrow  lines  transverse 
to  the  length  appear,  such  as  sometimes  may  be  seen  on 
fine  violin  bows,  giving  the  wood  a  beautiful  appearance 
and  distinguishing  it  at  once  from  black-walnut.  Next 
to  cedar  it  is  the  lightest  generally  known  rod  material, 
and  requires  ferrules  of  like  size.  The  general  complaint 
against  it  may  be  formulated  thus:  if  you  can  get  a  joint 
of  mahoe  that  will  stand,  you  have  a  fine  thing,  but  its 
strength  is  very  uncertain,  and  only  to  be  determined  in 
the  field.  This  criticism  we  think  hardly  fair.  If  the 
grain  is  perfectly  straight,  a  good  firm  pressure  in  each 
of  the  four  directions  when  the  joint  is  tapered  and  in 
the  square,  will  disclose  its  strength  or  lack  of  strength. 
Protecting  myself  by  this  precaution,  I  have  used  mahoe 
with  great  satisfaction  and  without  accident,  both  in  the 
streams  of  the  Middle  States  and  in  the  heavier  fishing 
of  Maine.  Though  certainly  far  stronger  than  cedar,  still 
the  best  of  it  has  not  the  strength  of  good  ash  or  lance- 
wood  of  like  dimensions ;  but  this  is,  in  a  measure  at 
least,  made  good  by  the  larger  diameter  which  the  rod 
may  and  should  receive. 

Its  virtues  are  an  attractive  appearance,  promptness 
of  action,  lightness,  and  indifference  to  moisture.  Those 
who  so  laud  the  action  of  a  cedar  rod  should  be  pleased 
with  that  of  mahoe,  since  the  resemblance  of  the  two  in 
this  respect  is  so  marked  that  many  place  them  on  an 
equal  footing. 

Tips  should  be  of  lancewood,  or,  better  still,  split- 
bamboo. 


174  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

HICKORY. 

Specific  gravity,  0.7963. 

This  wood  may  be  said  to  have  gone  entirely  out  of 
fashion  in  this  country,  though  still  in  favor  in  England, 
where  it  has  for  many  years  been  held  in  high  esteem. 
Its  great  strength  is  well  known  and  freely  admitted, 
but  at  the  same  time  it  is  charged  with  being  "  logy  "  in 
action.  But  this,  while  generally  quite  true,  is  not  uni- 
versally so,  since  hickory  joints  which  would  please  the 
most  fastidious  are  by  no  means  unknown.  It  would 
also  seem  that  this  difference  may  be  accounted  for  and 
guarded  against,  and  this  in  the  following  manner: 

A  second -growth  tree  of  the  "  shag-bark  "*  variety 
should  be  selected,  which  has  grown  in  an  exposed  situ- 
ation and  not  in  a  forest.  For  trees  are  like  men,  a 
hardy  middle-age  following  a  youth  of  vigorous  struggle. 
In  an  open  pasture,  or  on  a  knoll  exposed  to  the  keen 
blasts  of  winter,  weakling  trees  perish  in  their  infancy, 
and  only  the  most  vigorous  attain  their  growth.  As  the 
child  whose  every  muscle  has  been  in  daily  use  devel- 
ops into  a  vigorous  man,  so  a  tree  so  situated  strength- 
ens its  fibres  and  improves  their  elasticity  by  its  daily 
struggle  with  the  elements.  Having  found  a  tree  so  lo- 
cated, its  character  may  be  safely  presumed.  It  must 
then  be  cut  either  in  December  or  January,  when  the  sap 
is  entirely  out  of  the  wood,  otherwise  no  amount  of  sea- 
soning seems  to  impart  the  required  elasticity. 

As  soon  as  cut,  the  white  portion  of  the  wood  must  be 


*  According  to  the  United  States  Forestry  Department's  timber  test, 
pig-nut  hickory  should  be  the  better  wood.  Its  specific  gravity  is  given 
as  0.89 ;  weight  of  cubic  foot,  56  pounds. 


Bod  wad  Rod  Material,  175 

sawn  into  square  sticks  of  the  desired  length  and  size. 
These  should  then  be  immersed  in  fresh  water  from  six 
to  eight  weeks.  For  the  cells,  though  free  from  sap, 
still  contain  the  starch,  etc.,  to  furnish  the  first  growth 
of  the  ensuing  spring.  Water  soaking  removes  this,  and 
it  is  conceded  by  all  the  authorities  that  wood  so  used 
seasons  sooner  and  becomes  lighter  than  if  otherwise 
treated.  All  kiln-drying  or  boiling  of  the  wood  is  in- 
jurious. 

When  this  process  is  complete,  the  wood  can  and  should 
be  straightened,  if  this  is  required.  Two  courses  are  then 
open:  first,  to  pile  the  sticks  in  a  criss-cross  manner,  cov- 
er them  with  boards,  and  pile  stones  thereon,  and  leave 
them  to  season;  or  second,  to  hang  them  up,  each  separate- 
ly, and  by  one  end,  so  that  the  air  may  have  free  access  to 
all  sides.  The  latter  is  the  more  speedy  method.  In  the 
former  case  weighting  the  boards  is  to  prevent  season- 
crooks,  which  always  tend  to  cause  the  wood  to  curve 
from  the  heart.  These  will  almost  invariably  show  them- 
selves, if  permitted,  and  are  quite  persistent,  tending  to 
recur  notwithstanding  straightening  by  heat,  if  present 
when  the  wood  is  seasoned.  If  the  latter  method  is  fol- 
lowed, the  sticks  should  be  handled  frequently,  and  such 
as  are  found  crooked  should  be  straightened,  and  given  a 
slight  bend  in  the  opposite  direction.  Thus  they  may  be 
compelled  to  dry  perfectly  straight. 

The  seasoning  must  be  carried  on  out  of  the  sun  and 
rain,  and  with  free  access  of  air.  Why  rain  should  be 
avoided  is  obvious.  If  exposed  to  the  sun,  season-cracks 
will  appear  in  the  wood  to  its  utter  ruin. 

In  Hough's  "  Elements  of  Forestry  "  is  given  a  table 
of  the  percentage  of  moisture  in  wood,  at  six,  twelve, 
eighteen,  and  twenty-four  months.    From  this  it  appears 


176  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

that  little,  if  anything,  is  gained  by  seasoning  wood  over 
eighteen  months.  All  woods  are  hygroscopic,  absorbing 
water  from  the  atmosphere.  Some,  after  the  period  speci- 
fied, actually  gained  in  weight  by  absorption  of  moisture, 
while  others,  though  they  continued  to  part  with  it,  did 
so  but  very  slowly.  The  difference  in  weight  between 
green  and  perfectly  dry  hickory  is  therein  stated  to  be 
nearly  one-third. 

These  remarks  apply  equally  to  seasoning  all  domestic 
woods,  and  are  here  made  once  for  all. 

An  ash  butt  and  lancewood  tip  will  work  well  with 
hickory;  or  if  the  butt  joint  is  to  be  of  the  latter,  use  a 
handle  of  lighter  wood,  say  butternut. 

IRONWOOD. 
Specific  gravity,  0.8184. 

This  wood  has  as  many  different  local  names  as  the 
black  bass.  It  is  known  as  barwood,  leverwood,  and 
hornbeam.  Norris  gives  its  botanical  name  as  Carpinus 
ostrya — and  the  Government  Book  on  Forestry,  as  Os- 
trya  virginica.  In  appearance  it  closely  resembles  dog- 
wood. The  sapwood  resembles  ash  in  color,  the  heart 
having  a  reddish  tinge  like  red-ash.  Both  seem  equal  in 
merit.  Two  varieties  are  known,  the  one  having  a  smooth 
bark  without  fissures  is  inferior.  The  other  has  a  thin 
yellowish  gray  bark,  with  abundant  shallow  fissures,  but 
otherwise  rather  smooth,  and  this  latter  is  the  tree  from 
which  the  wood  used  for  rod-making  should  be  taken. 

It  prefers  damp  places,  and  grows  from  Canada  to  the 
Gulf.  Further  description,  with  illustrations  of  leaf  and 
flower,  may  be  found  in  the  American  Encyclopedia,  arti- 
cle "  Hornbeam."  It  was  a  special  favorite  of  Mr.  Thad- 
deus  Norris,  author  of  "The  American  Angler,"  who 


Eods  and  Rod  Material.  177 

highly  extolled  its  merits;  and  unquestionably  it  is  one 
of  the  best  of  native  woods  for  our  purpose.  But  it 
must  be  selected,  and  cut  as  directed  under  the  head  of 
"Hickory,"  or  it  will  be  worthless.  I  have  some  iron- 
wood  cut  fourteen  years  ago,  and  then  sawn  into  strips 
about  one-third  of  an  inch  square.  It  was  felled  in  June, 
otherwise  the  conditions  were  all  followed,  and  to  this 
day  it  is  not  fit  to  put  in  a  rod. 

The  tree  is  small,  eight  or  nine  inches  being  the  limit 
of  its  diameter,  and  apt  to  be  crooked  and  knotty.  But 
with  patience,  material  fit  for  rods  can  be  found  almost 
anywhere  in  the  country. 

Ironwood  is  very  strong,  not  over  heavy,  and  at  its 
best  is  sufficiently  elastic;  and  if  really  choice,  will  pro- 
duce an  excellent  rod  when  combined  with  lancewood, 
or,  better  still,  split-bamboo  tips.  But  if  in  craving  after 
lightness,  as  is  now  the  fashion,  you  are  niggardly  in 
material,  your  rod  will  be  slow  and  withy,  and  lack  that 
nervous  promptness  of  action  without  which  a  fly-rod  is 
like  a  counterfeit  five-dollar  bill.  It  will  not  bear  to  be 
reduced  to  the  calibre  of  lancewood,  greenheart,  or  beth- 
abara. 

It  breaks  with  a  long  splintering  fracture.  This  can 
be  taken  advantage  of,  and  its  strength  and  elasticity 
greatly  improved  by  the  following  method  of  manu- 
facture :  Color  one  end  of  the  stick,  for  which  purpose 
ink  will  answer  ;  then  saw  it  into  four  strips  about  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  square.  Plane  them  up  and  glue  them 
a         in  pairs,  so  the  ends  will  appear  thus  : 

Hthen  face  up  the  side,  a,  of  both  pairs 
^  and  glue  them  together  in  the  way  rep-        « 
J  resented  in  Fig.  32.     Straighten  them     ^*^-^^' 

Pig.  82.      while  the  glue  is  warm,  when  they  will  bend 
12 


178  Fly^ods  and  Fly-tackle, 

like  lead,  and  all  season-crooks  can  be  taken  out  once  for 
all.  Now  plane  in  your  taper,  touching  only  the  sides, 
a  and  h,  until  you  have  quite  finished  them,  for  you  can 
then  see  the  glue  line,  c  d^  and  so  work  the  surfaces,  a 
and  J,  as  to  keep  that  line  central.  Then  finish  the  taper 
by  working  off  the  sides,  c  and  d.  Use  every  precaution  to 
keep  the  intersection  of  the  lines,  a  h  and  c  d,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  joint.  If  your  glue  joints  are  as  they  should 
be,  they  ought  to  be  almost  invisible ;  and  this  may 
bother  you,  since  they  are  your  only  guide.  Therefore, 
if  you  do  not  object  to  having  the  glue  line  appear  on 
the  finished  rod,  rub  the  glue  sides,  before  you  apply  the 
glue,  with  red  chalk.  This  will  not  injure,  but  rather  in- 
crease the  tenacity  of  the  glue. 

Remember  to  use  glue  that  has  never  been  melted  be- 
fore, and  without  the  admixture  of  any  old  glue  what- 
ever. Soak  it  in  cold  water  during  the  night  before  it 
is  to  be  used.  You  will  find  it  in  the  morning  much 
swollen  and  flabby,  and  in  this  condition  you  should  melt 
it  without  adding  further  water. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  by  this  method  the  direction 
of  the  would-be  lines  of  fracture  cross  one  another,  and 
that  a  break  in  a  joint  so  made  must  occur,  not  in  the 
natural  direction,  but  directly  across  the  fibre.  Thus 
results  a  great  gain  both  in  strength  and  elasticity. 
This  is  decidedly  the  best  way  to  make  an  ironwood  rod. 
Wrap  with  silk,  as  though  the  rod  were  of  split-bamboo. 

One  precaution  the  ironwood  rod  requires  beyond 
every  other  —  water  must  be  excluded,  or  it  becomes 
leaden  and  soggy  at  once.  Nothing  but  the  best  coach- 
body  varnish,  and  plenty  of  it,  should  be  applied  to  such 
a  rod,  and  one  coat  at  least  should  precede  any  wrap- 
pings. 


Bods  and  Rod  Material,  179 

GREENHEART. 

Snecific  ffravitv  Park-colored,  1.0908. 
topecmc  gravit}  .  j  Light-colored,  0.9643. 

This  wood  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies  and  South 
America,  though  our  supply  comes  principally  from 
Demarara  in  British  Guiana,  often  through  England.  It 
is  a  tree  of  large  size,  yielding  timbers  from  twenty-four 
to  fifty  feet  long,  and  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  inches 
square.  The  wood  is  dense  in  grain  and  heavy,  some 
specimens  dark  as  the  darkest  black-walnut,  and  others 
of  a  yellowish  brown  or  light  snuff-color — a  difference 
which  does  not  seem  to  affect  the  strength  and  elasticity 
of  the  wood.  It  is  very  strong  and  elastic,  is  unaffected 
by  moisture,  and  takes  a  very  attractive  finish.  In  my 
opinion  it  takes  the  first  place  among  rod-woods. 

Some  complain  of  it  as  treacherous,  but  I  have  not 
found  it  so.  Indeed  it  may  well  be  questioned  whether 
upon  close  investigation  this  fault,  so  freely  charged 
against  more  than  one  rod  material,  should  not  more  just- 
ly be  attributed  to  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  maker. 
Before  any  wood  of  any  and  every  kind  is  ennobled  by 
conversion  into  a  fly-rod,  its  fitness  can  and  should  be 
thoroughly  tested.  When  the  proposed  joint  is  still  in 
the  square,  and  after  the  taper  has  been  planed  in,  a 
strong  bend  should  be  given  it  towards  each  of  the  four 
sides.  If  it  breaks,  be  thankful  that  it  failed  in  the  shop 
and  not  in  actual  battle ;  and  on  the  principle  that  it  is 
better  for  a  fire-arm  to  burst  in  the  proving-room  than 
in  the  hands  of  its  owner,  congratulate  yourself  as  one  de- 
livered from  danger.  Also,  if  it  "  sets  " — that  is,  does  not 
recover  its  former  straightness  when  the  strain  is  removed 
— reject  it  till  time  and  further  seasoning  remedy  this. 
To  one  with  but  limited  time  to  devote  to  the  amuse- 


180  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

ment  of  rod-making,  and  who  has  arranged  his  affairs,  pos- 
sibly with  inconvenience,  that  he  may  have  a  little  leisure 
to  devote  to  this,  I  know  the  temptation  is  great  to  use 
material  which  does  not  altogether  meet  his  approval — 
particularly  if  none  other  be  at  hand.  But  he  who  yields 
to  temptation  must  expect  the  incident  retribution,  and 
this  will  prove  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

Greenheart  files,  scrapes,  turns,  and  planes  well, but  like 
most  other  rod-woods  a  keen  tool  is  required.  Shavings  of 
this  wood  from  the  plane  have  nothing  of  the  usual  ribbon- 
like character,but  crumble  during  their  formation,  as  if  the 
wood  was  very  deficient  in  tenacity.  Such  is  not  the  case. 

It  may  be  bought  in  the  plank  at  from  thirty  to  fifty 
cents  a  foot,  board  measure,  at  any  of  the  dealers  in  hard- 
wood in  Centre  Street,  New  York  City.  But  unless  per- 
sonally selected,  knots,  crooked  grain,  season-cracks,  and 
other  defects  will  increase  the  cost  of  such  portions  as  may 
be  available.  Such  planks  as  I  have  seen  have  been  from 
ten  to  eighteen  feet  long,  one  and  a  quarter  inches  thick, 
and  from  twelve  to  twenty  inches  wide.  The  whole  plank 
must  be  taken,  the  dealers  refusing  to  cut  it.  If  to  this  is 
added  the  fact  that  one-half  waste  is  a  moderate  loss  in- 
deed, it  will  be  more  satisfactory  to  send  for  it  to  one  of 
those  houses  that  make  a  specialty  of  supplying  amateurs 
with  material.  The  price  demanded  may  seem  severe 
when  compared  with  the  cost  in  plank,  but  this  is  more 
apparent  than  real.  You  may  then  expect  selected  and 
seasoned  wood,  and  may  conclude  that  for  every  stick 
you  receive,  the  seller  has  bought  and  thrown  into  the 
scrap-heap  waste  sufficient  to  make  three  or  four.  Of 
course  this  loss,  together  with  interest  on  money  idle 
during  the  seasoning  process,  must  be  charged  upon  that 
which  is  merchantable,  in  addition  to  its  first  cost. 


Rods  and  Rod  Material,  181 

If  the  before-mentioned  test  be  applied  as  directed,  I 
confidently  recommend  this  wood  for  the  amateur's  first 
efforts  in  rod-making,  but  for  butts  and  middle  joints 
only.  Though  sometimes  employed  for  that  purpose,  I 
think  it  too  heavy  for  tips.  A  trifling  increase  of  weight 
at  that  part  makes  a  serious  and  disagreeable  difference 
in  the  feel  and  action  of  the  rod,  as  might  be  expected 
the  moment  its  distance  from  the  hand  and  consequent 
leverage  is  considered.  Also,  for  the  handle  of  such  a 
rod  a  lighter  wood  should  be  employed,  such  as  ash,  but- 
ternut, or  sumach.  This  may  easily  be  arranged,  either 
by  boring  into  the  handle  at  least  the  whole  length  of 
the  grasp,  and  gluing  the  greenheart  butt-joint  there- 
in, or  by  placing  a  ferrule  immediately  above  the  han- 
dle. The  latter,  for  reasons  hereafter  stated,  I  believe 
to  be  the  best  construction  for  any  rod  of  any  material. 

♦bethabara. 
Specific  gravity,  1.2140. 

The  merits  of  this  wood  have  been  more  highly  ex- 
tolled than  any  other.  That  it  may  be  worked  ^  of  an 
inch  thinner  than  split  -  bamboo,  and  have  the  same 
strength  and  better  action ;  also  that  a  rod  made  from 
it  will  cast  a  line  ten  feet  farther  than  any  rod  made 
from  split-bamboo  of  the  same  calibre,  are  perhaps  fair 
samples  of  the  claims  urged  in  its  behalf. 

If  all  this  is  true,  here  is  the  long  sought  substitute 
for  split-bamboo.  When  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  good 
material  for  the  latter,  the  greater  skill  and  time  required 
in  its  manufacture,  the  practical  impossibility  of  altering 

*  Rods  are  on  the  market  under  the  name  of  "  Noib  wood,"  the  material 
of  which  I  am  unable  to  distinguish  from  carefully  selected  bethabara. 


182  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

its  action  if  unsatisfactory,  or  of  repairing  a  break,  are 
considered,  certainly  this  is  "a  consummation  devoutly 
to  be  wished  "  by  all,  except,  perhaps,  the  makers  of  that 
form  of  rod. 

My  own  experience,  confined,  however,  to  two  butts 
and  four  middle  joints  (used  with  split -bamboo  tips), 
does  not  confirm  these  statements. 

The  wood  of  these  rods  was  selected  with  great  care, 
not  only  for  the  express  purpose  of  determining  its  merits 
as  far  as  so  limited  a  test  would  permit,  but  also  with  an 
earnest  desire  to  find  it  at  least  equal  if  not  superior  to 
the  split-bamboo. 

In  this  I  was  disappointed. 

Of  two  joints  of  equal  diameter  and  length,  that  of 
six-strip  split-bamboo  was  considerably  the  stiffer,  and 
weighed  about  one-third  less ;  or  in  other  words,  the 
same  power  to  cast  a  fly  and  control  a  fish  could  be  ob- 
tained from  a  hexagonal  split  -  bamboo  of  considerably 
smaller  diameter,  and  probably,  exclusive  of  ferrules,  of 
little  more  than  half  the  weight. 

It  has  unquestionably  great  strength,  fully  equal  to, 
perhaps  somewhat  in  excess  of,  the  average  hexagonal 
split-bamboo  of  the  same  diameter;  but  if  the  bamboo  is 
of  really  good  quality,  I  cannot  accord  bethabara  any 
superiority  in  this  respect. 

As  compared  with  good  greenheart,  about  the  same 
elasticity  was  found.  No  superiority  in  stiffness,  which 
would  permit  the  bethabara  to  be  worked  to  a  less  di- 
ameter and  retain  equal  power,  could  be  detected.  In 
strength  it  might,  perhaps,  average  a  little  better,  but  its 
greater  weight  would  seem  to  offset  this,  since  the  green- 
heart  being  the  lighter  wood  could  be  made  thicker. 

On  the  whole,  contrary  to  my  earnest  desire,  the  con- 


Rods  and  Rod  Material,  183 

elusion  was  forced  upon  me  that  in  this  material  no  suc- 
cessful rival  of  first-class  split-bamboo  was  to  be  found. 
That  it  is  the  equal  of  good  greenheart  in  every  respect 
except  slightly  greater  weight,  possibly  with  some  slight 
advantage  in  strength,  was  the  opinion  formed,  and  it  is 
believed  to  be  just. 

Beyond  that  bethabara  is  a  native  of  a  hot  climate,  and 
grows  from  three  to  three  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter 
and  twenty  feet  to  the  first  branch,  I  have  been  able  to 
acquire  no  certain  information  of  its  origin  or  growth. 
It  is  supposed  to  be,  like  greenheart,  a  native  of  British 
Guiana,  and  there  known  as  Wasahba,  "bethabara"  be- 
ing a  "  fancy  "  name. 

Some  think  it  a  variety  of  greenheart,  but  he  who  has 
worked  the  two  woods  will  hesitate  to  accept  this  opinion. 
It  resembles  greenheart  in  color,  but  still  with  a  differ- 
ence easily  seen  on  close  inspection,  though  difficult  to 
describe.  It  is  denser  in  grain,  more  bony  in  texture, 
and  requires  a  sharper  tool  to  work  it.  It  has  the  pe- 
culiarity of  depositing  a  gummy  substance  on  the  edge 
of  the  plane  blade,  producing  the  effect  of  dulness,  which 
must  at  short  intervals  be  removed  on  the  oil-stone  be- 
fore the  plane  will  resume  its  cut.  When  under  the 
plane  a  yellow  powder,  closely  resembling  pulverized 
gamboge  in  appearance,  is  profusely  deposited  on  the 
bench  and  tools,  as  well  as  on  the  hands  and  person  of  the 
worker.  This  instantly  turns  a  strong  salmon  color  in 
contact  with  soap  and  water,  due  doubtless  to  the  action 
of  the  alkali  in  the  former.  Its  shavings  have  nothing 
of  the  crumbling  character  of  those  of  greenheart,  from 
which  all  the  foregoing  marked  peculiarities  distinguish  it. 

Though  amenable  to  the  plane,  turning- tool,  file,  and 
scraper,  it  must  be  considered  difficult  and  disagreeable 


184  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJde, 

to  work — more  so  than  any  rod-making  material,  except 
possibly  split-bamboo. 

For  a  rod  10  to  lOj  feet  long,  7  to  8  ounces  in  weight, 
handle  12  to  14  inches  long,  of  lighter  wood,  female  fer- 
rules as  follows  (measured  inside)  are  recommended  by 
that  house  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  its  name,  and 
introduction  to  the  notice  of  the  anglers  of  this  country: 

Female  ferrule  uniting  butt  and  second  joint,  lOj  to 
11  thirty-seconds  of  an  inch. 

Female  ferrule  uniting  second  joint  and  tip,  6-J  to  7 
thirty-seconds  of  an  inch. 

Heavy  bass  fly-rod,  12  and  8  thirty-seconds  of  an  inch. 

Though  it  is  sometimes  used  for  tips,  its  usefulness  in 
that  position  may  well  be  questioned,  for  the  reason 
stated  under  "  Greenheart." 

Assuming  for  the  present  that  this  wood  is  identical 
with  that  mentioned  by  many  travellers  in  the  Guianas 
as  "  Washiba,"  "  Washeba,"  and  "  Wasahba,"  it  is  there 
a  common  tree,  growing  to  the  height  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  feet.  It  is  also  locally  known  as  "  Bow-wood," 
and  is  used  by  the  Indians  for  their  bows  and  war-clubs. 
It  is  also  well  known  in  England,  and  there  used  for 
fly-rods  and  bows. 

Further  experience  with  this  wood,  had  since  the  fore- 
going was  written,  inclines  me  to  believe  that  I  have 
done  full  justice  to,  if  I  have  not  somewhat  exaggerated 
its  merits.  I  do  not  now  think  it,  in  any  respect  what- 
ever, superior  to  good  greenheart,  while  it  is  considera- 
bly heavier. 

SNAKEWOOD. 

Specific  gravity,  1.3718. 

This  wood  is  also  a  native  of  the  Guianas.  It  is  called 
"  Bourra-courra "  by  the  natives,  with  whom  it  is  a  fa- 


Rods  and  Rod  Material,  185 

vorite  bow-wood.  Almost  all  travellers  in  these  colo- 
nies mention  and  describe  the  powerful  bows  carried 
by  the  natives,  and  the  skill  with  which  they  are  used. 
These  accounts  extend  at  intervals  for  over  one  hundred 
years,  beginning  with  Captain  Stedman's  narrative  of  an 
expedition  to  Surinam,  in  1772-1776.  From  these  it  ap- 
pears the  natives  use  for  this  purpose  either  purpleheart, 
washiba,  or  snakewood.  Captain  Stedman  thus  de- 
scribes this  tree: 

"  The  bourra-courra  or  brazil  grows  to  between  thirty 
and  forty  feet  high,  but  not  very  thick,  with  a  reddish 
bark.  The  heart  only  of  this  tree  is  valuable  after  the 
white  pithy  part  is  cut  away,  though  then  much  reduced. 
The  wood  is  as  truly  beautiful  as  it  is  useful,  the  color 
being  a  fine  crimson,  variegated  with  irregular  and  fan- 
tastical black  spots,  from  which  by  the  French  it  is 
called  hois-de-lettres.  It  is  heavy,  hard,  and  capable  of 
taking  a  brilliant  polish." 

The  name  of  snakewood  arose  from  the  resemblance 
this  wood  bears  to  the  skin  of  the  more  highly-colored 
snakes,  just  as  the  French  name  was  given  because  of 
the  fancied  resemblance  of  the  irregular  black  spots  to 
letters.  It  is  not  unfrequently  called  "Letterwood"  by 
English  writers.  Captain  Stedman's  description  cannot 
be  improved,  except  that  the  ground-tint  of  the  wood, 
as  seen  in  this  country  at  least,  is  a  reddish  brown  rather 
than  crimson.  It  has  been  well  known  in  this  country 
for  a  long  time,  and  is  esteemed  to  be  the  most  beautiful 
of  all  the  fancy  woods,  as  it  is  the  most  expensive.  It 
is  imported  in  billets  of  various  lengths  and  up  to  about 
nine  or  ten  inches  in  diameter,  the  sapwood  having 
been  first  removed.  The  market  price  is  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  cents  a  pound,  being  sold  by  weight  and  not  by 


186  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

measure.    It  has  been  sparingly  used  for  fly-rod  making, 
but  chiefly  for  bows,  and  sometimes  for  violin  bows. 

It  is  extremely  hard  and  close-grained,  indeed  were  it 
not  for  the  ease  with  which  it  splits,  it  might  be  supposed 
to  have  no  grain  at  all.  It  has  abundant  elasticity  and 
strength,  its  excessive  weight  and  high  first  cost  being 
the  only  objections  to  its  use.  No  other  material  ap- 
proximates to  it  in  beauty,  but  it  should  be  employed 
only  in  butts  in  combination  with  a  handle  of  lighter 
wood,  and  in  middle  joints.  Its  great  weight  renders  it 
unfit  for  tips. 

BEEFWOOD. 
Specific  gravity,  1.3090. 

This  wood  seems  generally  to  be  identified  with  the 
beefwood  or  she -oak  of  Australia.  But  I  believe  this 
to  be  a  mistake,  and  for  the  following  reasons:  first, 
the  she -oak  is  described  as  a  tree  about  eighteen  feet 
high  and  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  a  size  utterly  inade- 
quate to  furnish  planks  of  the  width  common  in  this 
market ;  second,  I  have  seen  an  afiidavit  in  the  posses- 
sion of  a  dealer,  accompanying  an  invoice  of  this  wood, 
which  declared  that  it  was  a  native  of  the  Guianas  aijd 
from  the  bullet-tree — called  by  travellers  by  that  name, 
as  well  as  "  Bullit-tree "  and  "  Bully-tree,"  supposed  to 
be  a  corruption  of  the  native  name,  "  Ballata."  The 
botanical  name  is  Achras  ballata. 

This  tree  grows  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet  and  more, 
and  is  often  six  feet  in  diameter.  The  bark  is  gray 
and  smooth. 

Beefwood  is  well  known  in  this  market.  I  have  seen 
it  only  in  planks,  of  various  lengths  and  up  to  twenty 
inches  in  width.  It  is  as  hard  as  snakewood,  very 
heavy,  strong,  and  elastic.      The  wood  is  red  in  color. 


Rods  cund  Rod  Material,  187 

resembling  the  lean  of  the  boiled  salt-beef  of  the  sailors. 
It  has  been  used  in  this  country  for  bows,  but  the  deal- 
ers say  it  is  principally  employed  for  making  violin  bows, 
to  the  wood  of  the  red  and  more  usual  variety  of  which 
it  certainly  bears  the  closest  resemblance. 

It  has  been  sparingly  used  for  fly- rods.  Though  I 
have  worked  this  wood  for  other  purposes,  I  have  never 
either  made,  or  seen  a  rod  which  was  made  from  it.  But 
aside  from  its  great  weight,  which  is  but  little  less  than 
that  of  snakewood,  I  should  think  it  would  serve  well 
for  butts  and  middle  joints,  if  these  were  arranged  as 
suggested  under  the  head  of  snakewood.  Its  market 
price  is  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  cents  a  square  foot. 

PADDLEWOOD. 
Specific  gravity,  0.8363. 

This  wood  is  another  native  of  British  Guiana.  It  is 
there  known  among  the  English-speaking  portion  of  that 
community  by  the  name  given  above  and  as  "Roller- 
wood,"  and  among  the  natives  as  "Yarura"  or'^Massara." 

This  wood  was  first  called  to  my  attention  by  Mr.  H. 
L.  Leonard,  the  well-known  rod-maker,  and  subsequently 
by  Mr.  A.  N.  Cheney.  To  the  latter  and  Mr.  Charles  F. 
Orvis  I  am  indebted  for  a  specimen.  It  is  a  large  tree, 
attaining  a  height  of  eighty  feet  and  a  diameter  of  five 
to  six  feet.  The  trunk  presents  a  singular  appearance, 
as  though  composed  of  a  central  mass  from  which  radi- 
ated a  number  of  flanges  six  to  eight  inches  wide,  and 
about  two  and  a  half  inches  thick,  thus  closely  resem- 
bling a  coarse  cog-wheel.  From  these  flanges  the  na- 
tives make  their  paddles;  hence  the  name.  One  traveller 
describes  it  as  appearing  as  though  a  number  of  small 
trees  had  grown  together,  and  that  this  extends  the  en- 


188  Fly -rods  and  Fly -tackle, 

tire  length  of  the  trunk.  It  is  well  known,  being  men- 
tioned by  most  travellers  who  have  recorded  their  expe- 
riences in  that  country.  The  wood  resembles  lancewood 
somewhat  in  appearance,  but  is  deeper  in  tint,  inclining 
to  a  salmon  or  flesh  color,  and  is-  neither  so  close  in  the 
grain  nor  so  hard. 

All  authorities  unite  in  assigning  to  it  great  strength 
and  elasticity,  while  some  say  that  it  possesses  these 
qualities  in  a  degree  unequalled  by  any  other  material 
not  exceeding  it  in  weight. 


Specific  gravity,  0.9690. 

This  wood  is  a  native  of  the  South-western  portion  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  also  called  "  Bodock,"  obviously 
a  corruption  of  the  above,  as  well  as  the  "  Osage-orange," 
from  the  combined  facts  that  it  produces  an  inedible 
orange-like  fruit,  and  that  it  was  first  noticed  by  French 
Canadian  trappers  in  the  country  of  the  Osage  Indians. 
These  Indians  employed  it  for  bow-making,  whence  the 
name  first  given.  Though  it  will  live  anywhere  south 
of  New  York,  and  is  not  uncommon  elsewhere,  still  it 
attains  its  maximum  development  in  Texas,  Arkansas, 
and  the  Indian  Territory.  There  it  attains  a  height  of 
from  fifty  to  seventy  feet,  and  a  diameter  of  from  three 
to  four  feet.  When  growing  alone  it  branches  rather 
close  to  the  ground,  but  when  shaded,  shoots  upward 
towards  the  light,  as  do  other  forest-trees,  and  then  the 
branches  start  at  a  somewhat  greater  height.  The  bo- 
tanical name  is  Machura  aurantica. 

The  wood  resembles  locust  closely  in  appearance,  be- 
ing yellow,  hard,  and  extremely  durable  and  elastic.  It 
is  much  prized  for  wagon-building.   The  sap  wood  should 


Eods  cmd  Rod  Material.  189 

not  be  used,  since  it  does  not  possess  the  merits  of  the 
inner  portion.  It  may  be  safely  accepted  as  a  general 
rule,  that  anything  which  will  make  a  good  bow  will 
make  a  good  rod. 

I  have  never  seen  a  rod  made  from  this  wood,  but  the 
fact  that  the  Osages  used  it  for  their  bows,  coupled  with 
the  recommendation  of  that  most  excellent  and  well- 
known  angler  and  writer,  Mr.  A.  N.  Cheney  (to  whom  I 
am  indebted  for  calling  it  to  my  attention),  together  with 
the  appearance  of  the  wood  itself,  encourage  me  to  hope 
that  here  we  may  find  a  domestic  material  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  most  of  the  foreign  woods. 

In  "  Trees  of  America,"  by  D.  J.  Brown,  it  is  de- 
scribed in  substance  as  follows :  The  Machura  aurantica 
in  its  natural  habitat  is  a  beautiful  deciduous  tree,  usual- 
ly growing  to  a  height  of  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet,  with 
a  trunk  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  diameter:  but 
in  very  favorable  situations  it  sometimes  attains  double 
these  dimensions.  The  branches,  which  are  covered  with 
a  grayish  bark,  are  armed  with  spines.  The  leaves  are 
broad,  two  to  four  inches  long,  oval,  with  a  pointed  end, 
smooth,  and  of  a  bright  shining  green.  The  spines  are 
rather  strong  and  an  inch  or  more  in  length.  The  flow- 
ers produced  in  April  or  May  are  inconspicuous  and 
nearly  green,  with  a  slight  yellow  tinge.  The  fruit  ma- 
tures in  Pennsylvania  in  September  or  October,  and  is  of 
the  size  and  appearance  of  a  large  Seville  orange  with  a 
rough  warty  surface. 

"The  wood  of  the  Machura  is  of  a  bright  yellow 
color,  somewhat  resembling  the  fustic,  and  like  the  wood 
of  that  tree,  it  is  said,  affords  a  yellow  dye.  It  is  solid, 
heavy,  durable,  uncommonly  fine  -  grained,  and  elastic  ; 
and  on   account  of  the  latter  property  it  is  used  for 


190  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

bows  by  all  the  tribes  of  Indians  of  the  region  where  it 
abounds.  When  wrought  it  receives  a  beautiful  polish, 
of  the  appearance  and  brilliancy  of  satinwood." 

SHADBLOW. 

Specific  gravity,  0.8620. 
This  shrub  is  known  also  as  Juneberry,  Serviceberry 
Shadbush,  and  Wild -plum.  It  grows  throughout  the 
Eastern  and  Middle  States  and  Canada.  Its  botanical 
name  is  Amelanchier  canadensis.  Its  blossoms  precede 
its  leaves  in  April  or  May,  about  the  time  the  shad 
ascend  the  rivers,  whence  one  of  its  names ;  while  an- 
other is  due  to  the  fact  that  its  edible  fruit  ripens  in 
June.  Many  varieties  are  found,  differing  in  size  from 
a  mere  bush  to  a  small  tree  of  thirty  or  forty  feet  in 
height.  The  wood  greatly  resembles  the  outer  wood  of 
the  hornbeam  in  color  and  texture,  being  quite  white  and 
close-grained.  It  is  very  strong  and  tough,  but  inclined 
like  hornbeam  to  be  "  logy  " — i.e.,  not  very  prompt  to  re- 
cover when  bent;  still  I  have  seen  one  rod  made  from  it 
throughout  by  Mr.  William  Mitchell  of  this  city,  which 
seemed  about  as  good  as  a  rod  could  be,  the  prompt- 
ness of  action  of  which  left  nothing  to  be  desired.  My 
personal  experience  of  this  wood  is  confined  to  an  exam- 
ination of  this  rod  and  quite  a  number  of  specimens  of 
the  wood  in  the  square.  From  these  I  should  judge 
there  was  an  unusual  difference  in  the  stiffness  and  elas- 
ticity of  different  samples,  which  may  be  partly  due  to 
the  many  varieties  which  occur;  also  that,  though  occa- 
sionally better  may  be  had,  still  the  general  run  of  this 
rod  material  would  require  pretty  good -sized  ferrules 
and  a  liberal  allowance  of  timber  if  other  than  a  withy 
rod  were  desired. 


Rods  and  Rod  Material.  191 

We  are  indebted,  I  believe,  to  Judge  F.  J.  Fitch  for 
calling  attention  to  this  wood.  He  speaks  of  it  as  fol- 
lows, in  the  American  Angler  of  June  24,  1882:  "  Of  the 
various  woods  that  I  have  used  I  prefer  Amelanchier. 
Its  strength,  lightness,  and  springiness  are  all  in  its  favor, 
but  great  care  must  be  taken  in  selecting  it.  The  tree 
should  grow  where  it  is  exposed  to  the  sun  and  light — 
not  in  a  dense  wood  or  thicket.  It  should  be  straight- 
grained  and  free  from  knots.  It  is  difficult,  nay  almost 
impossible,  to  find  one  growing  straight.  If  the  stick  is 
good  in  all  other  respects  I  do  not  mind  one  or  more 
curves.  Such  sticks  I  saw  out  with  a  narrow  saw,  fol- 
lowing the  grain  of  the  wood.  This  I  do  while  the  wood 
is  yet  green.  I  lash,  or  with  doubled-pointed  tacks  se- 
cure, each  stick  to  a  straight  board  or  plank,  and  when  they 
have  seasoned  one  or  two  years  they  come  out  straight." 

Three  hundred  different  varieties  of  hard  woods  grow 
within  the  United  States.  Of  this  great  number  the  hick- 
ory, ash,  hornbeam,  shadblow,  and  osage  -  orange,  cannot 
be  the  only  ones  adapted  to  fly-rod  making,  nor  is  it  prob- 
able they  are  the  best.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  who 
aspires  to  be  called  an  angler,  to  do  what  lies  in  his  way 
to  advance  the  art.  It  is  desirable  that  anglers  should 
bear  this  in  mind ;  and  when  opportunity  serves,  seek 
out  and  make  known  any  new  material  likely  to  prove 
useful.  The  field  is  certainly  of  sufficient  magnitude  to 
promise  ample  reward  for  any  labor  bestowed  on  inves- 
tigation— always  assuming  that  the  well-deserved  thanks 
of  the  angling  fraternity  may  be  considered  in  the  light 
of  a  reward. 

To  facilitate  identification,  it  may  be  further  remarked 
that  this  shrub  also  bears  the  local  names  of  Wild-pear, 
Sugar-plum,  and  Shad-flower.     In  favorable  localities  it 


192  Fly -rods  and  Fly -tackle. 

attains  a  diameter  of  from  ten  to  twelve  inches.  The 
wood  is  white  throughout.  Its  leaves  are  from  two  to 
three  inches  long,  alternate,  a  lengthened  oval  in  shape, 
finely-toothed,  veined  on  the  under  side,  and  when  be- 
ginning to  open  are  covered  with  a  thick  down.  This 
subsequently  disappears,  leaving  them  perfectly  smooth 
on  both  sides.  The  flowers  are  white,  rather  large,  and 
disposed  in  panicles  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  The 
fruit  is  globular,  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
red  when  immature,  dark  purple  when  ripe,  and  covered 
with  a  bloom. 

The  foregoing  is  believed  to  include  most  of  the  ma- 
terials which  have  been  used  for  fly-rod  making  in  this 
country.  The  Alaska  cedar  has  recently  received  some 
attention  for  this  purpose.  I  have  seen  but  one  speci- 
men of  it,  and  that  in  the  square.  It  was  white  in  color 
and  seemed  to  be  somewhat  heavier  and  harder  than  Flor- 
ida cedar.  It  is  reputed  to  have  the  same  action,  and  some- 
what greater  strength. 

Reports  of  rods  made  all  in  one  piece,  without  any 
joints,  from  a  stick  split  from  a  small,  tough  spruce,  have 
reached  me,  and  these  were  said  to  be  excellent.  But  I 
have  never  seen  them. 


ADDITIONAL   WOODS. 

The  following  woods  would  appear  well  worthy  of 
the  attention  of  the  rod -maker.  The  information  is 
collated  from  "Timber  and  Timber  Trees"  (Laslett, 
London,  1875)  and  "The  Forests  and  Gardens  of  South 
India"  (Cleghom,  London,  1859).  The  author  of  the 
former  was  timber  inspector  to   the  Admiralty,  which 


Rods  and  Rod  Material,  193 

sufficiently  vouches  for  his  opportunities  for,  and  the 
reliability  of,  his  investigations.  The  latter  was  con- 
servator of  forests,  Madras  Presidency. 

The  character  of  the  tables  which  Mr.  Laslett  gives 
would  Seem  to  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  very  correct 
judgment  of  the  comparative  value  of  the  different  woods 
therein  mentioned  for  our  purpose,  the  more  so  since 
greenheart  is  included  therein ;  and  this,  as  previously 
stated,  I  believe  to  be,  if  in  perfection,  the  best  of  the 
generally  known  rod- woods. 

The  transverse  strengths  were  ascertained  by  support- 
ing a  piece  of  wood  two  inches  square  upon  two  edges 
placed  six  feet  apart.  A  receptacle  was  suspended  from 
it  midway  between  these  points,  and  into  this  water  was 
gradually  introduced  to  the  weight  of  three  hundred  and 
ninety  pounds.  The  deflection  in  inches  was  then  noted. 
The  weight  was  then  removed  and  the  resulting  deflec- 
tion (or  set)  taken.  From  this  we  can  well  judge  two 
important  factors  which  go  to  make  a  good  fly -rod  mate- 
rial—  its  stiffness  and  power  of  recovery.  Next  comes 
the  deflection  in  inches  at  the  breaking  point ;  then  the 
weight  required  to  break  each  piece  in  pounds  is  given; 
then  the  specific  gravity  from  which  we  may  compare 
the  weights;  and  finally  the  weight  required  to  break 
one  square  inch.  In  each  case  a  number  of  specimens, 
usually  six,  were  tested.  In  Mr.  Laslett's  book  each  de- 
termination is  separately  given,  and  an  average  deduced 
therefrom.  In  the  table  presented  hereafter  these  av- 
erages only  are  given,  stating  in  the  first  column  from 
how  many  separate  experiments  the  given  average  was 
determined.  For  convenience  of  comparison  all  the  de- 
terminations are  presented  in  a  single  table,  rather  than 
in  detached  form  under  each  separate  wood. 
13 


194  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

PYENGADU. 

This  wood  is  a  native  of  Burmah.  It  is  also  called 
the  Ironwood-tree,  and  is  the  Ingazylocarva  of  the  bot- 
anists. It  is  a  species  of  acacia,  of  straight  growth.  It 
grows  to  a  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet  without  a 
branch,  and  of  corresponding  diameter,  and  yields  logs 
even  up  to  thirty  inches  square  and  of  great  length.  The 
wood  is  of  a  reddish-brown  color,  hard,  heavy,  tough, 
strong,  rigid,  and  frequently  possesses  some  figure  in  the 
grain,  which  has  the  appearance  of  being  both  waved 
and  twisted  ;  its  pores  are  filled  with  a  remarkably  thick, 
glutinous,  oily  substance  "  which  oozes  out  upon  the  sur- 
face after  the  wood  has  been  worked,  leaving  a  clammi- 
ness which  cannot  be  completely  got  rid  of  until  the 
piece  is  thoroughly  seasoned.  This  oily  substance  has 
probably  a  preservative  property  about  it,  and  may  be 
conducive  to  the  durability  of  the  timber." 

Mr.  Laslett  quotes  from  Lieut.-col.  H.  W.  Blake  in  ef- 
fect, that  it  is  one  of  the  largest  trees  in  Burmah,  and 
combines  in  itself  the  properties  of  wood  and  iron.  It 
is  heavier  than  water  and  more  indestructible  than  iron. 
Time  and  exposure  seem  to  harden  it,  since  a  rifle-ball, 
fired  at  a  distance  of  twenty  yards,  rebounded  and  failed 
to  penetrate  an  ancient  post  of  this  material. 

He  quotes  from  Dr.  Hooker  in  effect,  that  it  is  found, 
but  not  universally,  in  India.  Throughout  the  Malay 
peninsula  it  is  called  "Peengado."  It  is  abundant  in 
the  Bombay  Presidency,  where  it  is  called  "  Jambea  "and 
"  Yerool ;"  in  the  Godavery  forests  it  bears  the  name  of 
"  Boja ;"  it  is  common  in  Singapore,  and  is  plentiful  in 
the  Philippine  Islands.  Everywhere  the  wood  bears  a 
high  character  for  hardness  and  durability. 


Rods  and  Rod  Material.  195 

Four  of  the  specimens  tested  by  Mr.  Laslett,  broke 
with  about  twelve  inches  length  of  fracture,  and  two 
with  somewhat  less.     All  were  fibrous  and  wiry. 

THE     CHOW, 

also  called  the  Menkabang  Penang  tree,  is  a  native 
of  Borneo ;  is  of  large  dimensions,  yielding  logs  from 
thirty  to  seventy  feet  long  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
six  inches  square,  and  is  of  straight  growth.  The  wood 
is  yellowish  or  straw-color,  close  and  fine  in  texture, 
straight  in  grain,  hard,  heavy,  tough,  and  exceedingly 
strong.  It  is  used  in  Borneo  and  the  countries  border- 
ing on  the  China  Seas  for  masts,  and  for  house  and  ship 
building. 

Of  the  samples  tested  by  Mr.  Laslett  four  broke  with 
fractures  about  twelve  inches  in  length,  and  two  rather 
shorter. 

THE    PINGOW 

is  also  a  native  of  Borneo,  where  it  is  said  to  be  plenti- 
ful. It  is  straight  and  of  considerable  size,  yielding 
timber  from  twenty-five  to  forty  feet  long  and  eleven 
to  eighteen  inches  square.  The  wood  is  of  a  dark  brown 
color,  hard,  heavy,  tough,  rigid,  and  remarkably  strong ; 
it  is  straight  in  the  grain,  close  in  texture,  and  not  diffi- 
cult to  work.  It  is  used  for  the  same  purposes  as  the 
Chow.  All  the  specimens  tested  by  Mr.  Laslett  broke 
short. 

THE  KRANJI,  OR  RED  KRANJI  TREE. 

There  are  probably  varieties  of  some  other  color.  It 
is  another  native  of  Borneo.  It  grows  straight  and  of 
large  size.  The  wood  is  red  in  color,  hard,  heavy,  ex- 
ceedingly tough,  and  "  is  one  of  the  strongest  with  which 
we  are   acquainted,  every  one  of  the  specimens,  when 


196  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTcle. 

tried  transversely,  taking  a  very  heavy  strain  and  break- 
ing with  an  unusually  long  fracture  ;  the  grain  is  close, 
and  somewhat  resembles  Cuba  or  Spanish  mahogany, 
but  is  very  plain  "  (Laslett).     It  takes  a  high  polish. 

Cleghorn  says,  "  The  strength  of  the  wood  is  very  re- 
markable, being  more  than  double  that  of  oak.  The 
Chinese  use  it  for  the  stern-posts  of  their  junks  and  for 
anchors,  and  they  export  it  from  Singapore.  A  log 
twenty-four  feet  long  and  one  and  a  half  feet  square  is 
worth  ten  dollars." 

Of  the  specimens  tested  by  Mr.  Laslett,  three  broke 
with  a  very  long  fracture,  and  three  much  shorter  and 
scarf  like. 

THE    IRONBARK    TREE 

is  a  native  of,  and  abundant  in,  Australia.  It  is  a  lofty 
tree  of  moderate  circumference,  and  yields  timber  from 
twenty  to  forty  feet  in  length  and  from  eleven  to  thirteen 
inches  square.  It  receives  its  name  from  the  hardness 
of  its  bark.  The  botanical  name  is  Eucalyptus  resini- 
fera. 

The  wood  is  of  a  deep  red  color,  very  hard,  heavy, 
strong,  extremely  rigid,  and  rather  difficult  to  work. 
It  has  a  plain  straight  grain.  It  is  used  extensively 
in  Australia  in  ship-building  and  engineering  works,  as 
well  as  in  England  for  the  former  purpose. 

But  four  specimens  of  this  were  tested  by  Mr.  Laslett. 
No.  1  broke  with  a  wiry  fracture  sixteen  inches  in  length; 
No.  2  wiry  fracture  of  twelve  inches  ;  No.  3  wiry  fract- 
ure of  ten  inches ;  No.  4  broke  short  to  one-third  depth, 
then  splintering  fracture  ten  inches  in  length. 

Attention  is  particularly  called  to  the  last  two  woods 
in  the  following  table,  which,  if  correct,  shows  both  to 
be  lighter,  stronger,  stiffer,  and  more  elastic  than  green- 


Bods  and  Bod  Material. 


197 


heart.  They  are  readily  to  be  had,  since  every  China 
vessel  stops  at  Singapore,  the  market  for  the  one ;  while 
communication  between  this  country  and  Australia,  the 
home  of  the  other,  is  frequent.  If  any  wood  really  does 
possess  the  merits  of  bamboo,  and  if  it  is  desirable  to  find 
such  a  wood,  certainly  these  two,  at  least,  seem  to  deserve 
attention. 

TABLE  ABRIDGED  FROM  LASLETT. 


Matsbiaia 

Num- 
ber of 
Speci- 
mens. 

Dkflbotions. 

Weight 
required 
to  break. 

Specific 
Gravity. 

Weight  re- 
quired to 
break  1 
sq.  inch. 

Under 

390 
pounds. 

After 
weight 
was  re- 
moved. 

At  cri- 
sis of 
break- 
ing. 

Greenheart. 
Iron  wood . . 

Chow 

Pingow 

Kranji 

Ironbark. . . 

6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
4 

Inches. 

2.15 

0.958 

0.916 

0.775 

0.625 

0.94 

Inches. 
.066 
.033 
.025 
.058 
.025 
.000 

Inches. 

4.625 

4.25 

2.833 

3.816 

4.04 

3.812 

Pounds. 
1332.5 
1273.3 
975. 
1263.3 
1482.6 
1407.5 

1149.6 
1176.3 
1115.6 
747.5 
1029.3 
1142. 

Pounds. 
333. 
318. 
243. 
316. 
370. 
351. 

Two  other  woods,  natives  of  Cuba,  seem  to  merit  men- 
tion, and  to  be  worthy  of  practical  test.  My  information 
concerning  them  is  derived  from  two  papers  on  "The 
Strength  and  other  Properties  of  Cuban  Woods,"  in  the 
November  and  December  (1883)  numbers  of  Van  Nos- 
trand's  Engineering  Magazine^  by  E.  D.  Estrada,  M.E. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Estrada  did  not  facilitate 
comparison  by  reducing  his  test  pieces  to  one  uniform 
size,  though  the  necessity  of  "  cutting  his  coat  according 
to  his  cloth"  will  probably  account  for  this.  He  de- 
scribes these  woods  substantially  as  follows : 

DAOAME  (ColycophyUum  candidissimum). 
This  is  one  of  the  most  plentiful  trees  of  the  forests 
of  Cuba,  being  generally  found  near  mountains  and  in 


198  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taclde, 

reddish  soils.  A  common  height  is  from  forty  to  fifty 
feet.  Its  trunk  is  straight  and  quite  free  from  branches. 
The  wood  is  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  very  fibrous,  is  close- 
grained,  thus  resembling  boxwood,  is  moderately  heavy, 
and  very  strong  and  elastic.  It  is  very  easily  worked, 
either  across  or  with  the  grain.  It  turns  remarkably 
well,  is  entirely  free  from  knots,  takes  a  fine  polish,  and 
is  very  durable. 

It  is  used  extensively  in  general  carpentry,  for  the 
wood-work  of  ploughs,  cart-axles,  spokes,  and  spikes,  and 
is  an  excellent  material  for  house-framing  because  of  its 
strength  and  durability;  and  joiners  prefer  it  for  their 
work  to  most  other  woods.  It  is  also  extensively  em- 
ployed by  carriage  manufacturers,  in  ship-yards,  and  for 
other  similar  purposes.  The  largest  section  that  can  be 
obtained  after  squaring  is  twelve  inches.  Its  specific 
gravity  is  0.90.     A  cubic  foot  weighs  56.1  pounds. 

Mr.  Estrada's  tests  show  this  wood  to  be  exceeding- 
ly strong  and  elastic,  a  piece  1.94  inches  broad  by  2.28 
inches  deep  and  forty  inches  between  supports,  breaking 
only  under  a  load  of  3450  pounds,  and  with  a  deflection 
of  1.9  inches. 

JUCARO  PRIETO  (Buddo). 

This  tree  is  abundant  near  the  southern  coast  of  Cuba, 
and  attains  a  height  of  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet,  for 
which  it  requires  fifty  to  fifty-five  years'  growth;  it  has 
lateral  roots  and  yields  gum  by  incision. 

The  wood  is  of  a  dark  brown  color,  much  resembling 
black-walnut,  is  very  strong,  tough  and  elastic,  and  is 
heavy,  fine-grained,  and  free  from  knots.  It  stands  the 
weather  remarkably  well,  is  worked  easily,  and  is  suscepti- 
ble of  good  polish,  thus  producing  a  handsome  effect.  It 
is  largely  employed  in  naval  constructions,  for  purposes 


Mods  and  Bod  Material.  199 

where  strength  and  durability  are  required.  It  is  also 
extensively  used  by  millwrights,  and  is  an  excellent  ma- 
terial for  posts,  piles,  and  general  dock  constructions. 
It  can  be  obtained  in  logs  of  thirty-six  feet  in  length, 
and  sixteen  inches  square.  Its  specific  gravity  is  1.08. 
A  cubic  foot  weighs  67.3  pounds. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  I  have  made  and  used 
several  rods  of  Dagame,  and  have  seen  many  made  by 
others.  If  well  selected  and  well  seasoned,  as  a  rod-wood 
it  is  difficult  to  equal,  much  less  excel,  as  far  as  my  ex- 
perience goes.  Other  woods  may,  perhaps,  surpass  it  a 
little  in  some  one  particular,  but  in  the  general  average 
of  all  the  desirable  qualities  it  seems  to  me  the  best  rod- 
wood  I  have  ever  tried.  It  is  very  strong,  very  elastic, 
considerably  lighter  than  any  wood  I  know  of  which 
has  equal  strength,  and  works  with  a  keen  tool  in  a  way 
that  is  simply  a  delight.  Now  that  Cuba,  its  place  of 
growth,  is  under  our  dominion,  at  least  for  the  time 
being,  it  ought  to  be  procured  without  difficulty.  That 
it  may  be  had  of  ample  sizes,  straight  in  the  grain  and 
free  from  knots,  is  proved  by  the  many  such  specimens 
I  have  seen.  My  first  sample  was  like  a  railway-tie  in 
size,  and  perfect  in  quality  throughout.  But  just  as  all 
beef  is  not  tender,  so  all  dagame  wood  is  not  first-class 
of  its  kind,  as,  indeed,  is  the  fact  with  every  other  rod 
material.  If  ordered,  its  selection  should  be  confided  to 
one  accustomed  to  work  the  wood,  if  possible,  even 
though  the  order  be  sent  through  another,  for  the  same 
reason  that  one  would  not  confide  the  selection  of  a 
horse  to  a  book-worm.  Ferrules  should  be  about  the 
same  as  for  lance-wood,  or  a  very  little  larger.  Tips 
may  be  of  the  same  wood,  but  split  bamboo  is  better. 
Indeed,  nothing  equals  split  bamboo  for  that  purpose. 


200  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

A  piece  of  the  wood  1.45  inches  broad,  1.75  inches 
deep,  and  twenty-eight  inches  between  supports  "broke 
at  1675  pounds,  with  a  deflection  of  0.85  inches.  Con- 
tinued to  break,  and  at  the  last  break  the  total  deflection 
was  six  inches.     A  remarkably  tough  wood." 

Since  writing  the  above,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
Charles  Mallory,  of  the  Mallory  Steamship  Line,  I  have 
received  specimens  of  the  Jucaro  Prieto  and  the  Dagarae 
from  Cuba.  They  were  in  the  form  of  two  timbers,  each 
thirteen  inches  wide,  five  inches  thick,  and  nearly  six  feet 
long.  The  Jucaro  Prieto  resembled  black- walnut  in  color 
and  greenheart  in  density.  It  was  free  from  knots  and 
straight  in  the  grain.  Though  sufficiently  strong,  it  was 
not,  and  is  not  yet,  elastic  enough  to  warrant  its  recom- 
mendation for  rod-making.  It  does  not,  however,  appear 
to  be  thoroughly  seasoned,  so  the  future  may  possibly 
develop  merits  not  now  apparent. 

So  greatly  may  different  samples  of  the  same  wood 
vary  in  elasticity,  that  it  is  premature  to  condemn  a 
material  altogether  because  a  single  specimen  may  be 
defective.  This,  however,  is  the  exception  that  makes 
the  rule,  "  that  it  is  a  poor  rule  that  don't  work  both 
ways;"  for  it  is  quite  proper  to  recommend  a  wood,  one 
specimen  of  which  is  excellent,  since  it  is  certain  that 
others  of  equal  merit  can  be  had,  and  probably  with  but 
little  difficulty. 

The  Dagame,  when  sawn  into  sticks,  resembled  lance- 
wood  so  closely  in  grain  and  color  as  to  make  it  difficult 
to  distinguish  between  them.  It  seems,  however,  inclined 
to  take  on  a  browner  shade  from  exposure  to  the  air,  so 
that  it  is  probable  this  resemblance  will  diminish  with 
time.  The  grain  ^a^  very  straight,  altogether  free  from 
knots,  especially  those   small    knots    sometimes  called 


V  Rods  and  Bod  Material.  ^  201 

"  pins,"  which  are  the  bane  of  the  worker  of  lancewood. 
Though  apparently  not  perfectly  seasoned,  yet  a  degree  of 
stiffness,  elasticity,  and  freedom  from  set  was  shown  which 
would  be  considered  remarkable  in  any  wood.  It  broke 
with  great  difficulty,  and  then  with  a  wiry  fibrous  fract- 
ure— resembling  hickory  in  this  respect.  Compared  with 
a  stick  of  approved  greenheart  of  equal  size,  the  Dagame 
showed  no  inferiority  that  I  could  detect,  while  it  was 
certainly  much  lighter,  and  I  thought  decidedly  stronger. 
Should  I  praise  this  wood  in  terms  as  high  as  I  believe 
this  sample  would  justify  me  in  doing,,  I  fear  I  might  be 
deemed  extravagant. 

I  presented  the  well-known  physicist,  Professor  Alfred 
M.  Mayer,  of  the  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology,  au- 
thor of  that  superb  book,  "  Sport  with  Gun  and  Rod," 
with  some  which  he  converted  into  a  light  minnow  cast- 
ing-rod, believing  that  in  this  manner  the  quality  of  the 
wood  could  be  better  tested  than  in  a  fly-rod.  He  in- 
forms me  that  he  has  used  the  rod  extensively  in  black- 
bass  fishing,  and  purposely  in  the  most  unsparing  man- 
ner. He  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of  its  performance, 
emphasizing  particularly  its  ability  to  endure  the  heavi- 
est strains — strains  which  doubled  it  up  so  as  to  cause  his 
boatman  again  and  again  to  beg  him  to  spare  so  good 
a  rod,  and  not  doom  it  to  certain  destruction — and  this 
with  perfect  impunity  and  entire  apparent  freedom  from 
set.  Should  I  express  myself  in  its  favor  in  as  decided 
terms  as  I  am  tempted  to  do,  not  even  then  would  his 
encomiums  be  exceeded.  At  all  events  it  is  well  worthy 
the  rod-maker's  attention,  especially  for  tips. 

PURPLEHEART. 

All  travellers  in  British  Guiana  enlarge  on  the  mag- 


302  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tachle. 

nificence  of  this  tree,  growing  as  it  does  to  the  largest 
size,  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  without  a  branch  for  sixty- 
feet  or  more.  Its  wood  is  universally  commended  by 
them  as  of  great  beauty,  durability,  strength,  and  elastic- 
ity. Black  greenheart  and  purpleheart  were  the  only 
woods  that  withstood  the  concussion  of  service  when 
used  for  mortar-beds  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Bourbon,  Mar- 
tinique. From  the  bark  of  this  tree  the  natives  con- 
struct their  "  wood-skin  "  canoes,  some  of  which  are  large 
enough  to  carry  twenty -five  people  in  smooth  water.  It 
is  also  a  favorite  bow- wood  of  the  Indians.  It  appears  to 
be  unknown  in  this  country,  none  of  the  dealers  seeming 
ever  even  to  have  heard  of  it — at  least  as  far  as  I  can 
ascertain. 

From  the  concurrent  testimony  of  many  travellers, 
covering  nearly  one  hundred  years,  it  seems  unquestion- 
able that  this  wood  is  of  great  value  for  our  purpose,  and 
since  it  may  be  had  quite  as  easily  as  greenheart,  both 
being  in  common  use  in  that  colony,  I  commend  it  to  the 
attention  of  rod-makers.  I  regret  that  I  am  unable  to 
give  its  specific  gravity  or  describe  the  wood  more  ex- 
actly. As  to  the  first  it  is  heavier  than  water,  and  as  to 
the  second  it  is  purple  in  color. 

Composite  rods  of  many  different  materials  I  have  ex- 
perimented upon,  with  much  labor  but  less  profit. 

Cedar,  inlaid  with  four  strips  of  split-bamboo  set  in 
edgewise  to  a  depth  as  near  to  the  centre  of  the  joint  as 
possible,  was  the  first  effort  in  this  direction.  This  was 
imitated  from  a  beautiful  rod  made  by  that  most  excel- 
lent amateur  rod  and  fly  maker,  Mr.  J.  James  Hyde,  of 
New  York  City. 

A  like  combination  of  bamboo  and  mahoe  was  tried. 


Rods  and  Rod  Material,  203 

Both  of  these  yielded  good  results.  But  having  at  that 
time  adopted,  and  intending  in  the  future  to  adhere  to, 
one  fixed  size  for  my  ferrules,  so  that  my  joints  and  tips 
should  be  interchangeable,  the  object  sought  was  to  so 
stiffen  these  two  woods  that  a  reduction  to  the  standard 
diameter,  without  excessive  reduction  in  length,  would  be 
possible.  As  far  as  this  was  concerned  they  were  a  fail- 
ure, and  were  consequently  dropped.  Then  flat  steel 
hoop-skirt  wire  was  substituted  for  the  bamboo.  This 
experiment  gave  me  more  trouble  than  any  in  my  experi- 
ence of  rod-making;  for  not  only  was  the  construction  of 
a  special  plane  first  necessary  to  channel  out  the  very 
narrow  grooves  to  receive  the  flat  wire  edgewise,  but 
some  kind  of  a  guide  had  to  be  devised  to  direct  the 
channel  down  the  exact  centre  of  the  stick,  and  this  af- 
ter the  stick  had  been  tapered,  since  when  the  tempered 
steel  was  in  position  planing  was  at  an  end.  But  the  gain 
in  stiffness  and  strength  did  not  compensate  for  the  in- 
creased weight.  The  rod,  to  my  hand,  felt  top-heavy  and 
unpleasant. 

This  latter  effort  is  mentioned  that,  should  another  ex- 
periment in  the  same  direction,  he  may  profit  by  and 
avoid  my  mistakes.  It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  flat 
steel  strip  was  set  into  the  wood  edgewise,  and  so  that  its 
upper  edge  was  flush  with  the  surface.  I  used  a  strip  of 
even  width,  supposing  that,  since  the  taper  of  the  wood 
would  separate  the  four  steel  strips  farther  and  farther 
apart,  this  would  graduate  the  stiffness  nicely  and  in  the 
desired  manner  —  on  the  principle  of  the  truss.  This 
turned  out  to  be  an  error,  and  to  him  who  feels  dis- 
posed to  venture  in  this  direction  is  offered  the  advice  to 
taper  the  width  of  his  strips  with  a  file  before  insertion. 
Gutta-percha  gum,  either  alone  or,  if  on  cooling  it  does 


204  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle, 

not  harden  sufficiently,  mixed  with  some  Burgundy  pitch, 
will  be  found  a  good  cement  to  secure  the  steel  in  place, 
since  it  is  extremely  adhesive  both  to  wood  and  metal, 
is  perfectly  water-proof,  and,  in  addition,  melts  at  a  low 
temperature. 

Wooden  rods  with  a  steel  core  are  not  unknown,  but  I 
have  never  seen  one. 

For  convenience  of  comparison,  the  specific  gravities, 
before  given  under  their  appropriate  materials,  are  ar- 
ranged in  tabular  form  in  the  order  of  their  weights, 
the  heaviest  first  (p.  205).  The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of 
each  is  also  given  in  pounds  and  hundredths  of  a  pound. 
Those  specific  gravities  not  marked  with  an  asterisk, 
were  computed  with  the  kind  assistance  of  Messrs. 
S.  E.  Hopkins  and  Wallace  G.  Levison,  Director  of  the 
Cooper  Institute  Laboratory.  Distilled  water  was  the 
standard. 

The  determinations  were  made  with  great  care,  and 
are  believed  to  be  reliable  for  the  specimens  tested  to  at 
least  the  third  decimal  place.  Different  samples  of  the 
same  species  differ  somewhat  in  weight,  but  those  tested 
in  this  instance  were  of  woods  carefully  selected  for  the 
express  purpose  of  rod-making,  and  were  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  very  best  of  their  kind.  Therefore  it  is 
believed  that  they,  and  the  relative  weights  determined 
from  them,  more  correctly  represent  the  material  used 
in  fly-rods,  than  would  anything  selected  at  random  in 
the  market,  or  any  table  computed  thereon. 

The  specimens  of  split-bamboo  were  of  excellent  qual- 
ity, and  of  my  own  preparation.  The  six-strip  hexagonal 
piece  was  taken  from  an  old  and  well-tried  middle  joint. 
The  angles  of  this  were  very  slightly  rounded.  The 
four- strip  piece  was  put  together  with  the  rind  inside, 


Rods  and  Rod  Material, 


205 


for  the  purpose  of  comparison.     The  cedar  was  from  a 
very  choice  Florida  specimen. 


Material. 


Specific 
Gravity. 


Weight  of  1 
Cubic  Foot. 


Snakewood 

Beefwood 

Bethabara 

*Ironwood 

*Iroubark  

*Chow 

Greenheart  (dark-colored) 

♦Jucaro  Prieto 

Lancewood 

*Kranji 

Split-bamboo :  Six-strip  hexagonal,  rind  outside 

Boia  d'Arc 

Split-bamboo :  Four-strip,  rind  inside 

Greenheart  (light-colored) 

*Dagame 

Shadblow 

Paddlewood 

Ironwood  {Hornbeam) 

Hickory 

Ash 

*Pingow 

Mahoe 

Cedar  (Florida) .  . 


1.3718 
1.3090 
1.2140 
1.176 
1.142 
1.116 
1.0908 
1.08 
1.0335 
1.029 
.9915 
.9690 
.9678 
.9643 
.90 
.8620 
.8363 
.8184 
.7963 
.7786 
.748 
.6607 
.6396 


85.74 
81.81 
75.88 
73.50 
71.37 
69.75 
68.18 
67.30 
64.59 
64.31 
61.96 
60.56 
60.49 
60.26 
66.10 
63.87 
52.27 
51.16 
49.77 
48.66 
46.75 
41.29 
39.98 


To  facilitate  computation,  as  is  customary  where  abso- 
lute accuracy  is  not  required,  the  weight  of  a  cubic  foot 
of  distilled  water  was  taken  at  62.6  pounds.  This  table 
does  not  bear  out  the  statement  heretofore  made  that 
the  ironbark  wood  was  lighter  than  greenheart.  The 
comparison  was  then  made  with  Mr.  Laslett's  specimens 
of  greenheart,  which  were  considerably  heavier  (71.81 
pounds  to  the  cubic  foot)  than  those  tested  by  me.  At- 
tention has  been  called  before  to  the  fact  that  different 


206  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

samples  of  the  same  variety  of  wood  vary  considerably 
in  weight,  due  largely,  doubtless,  to  difference  in  season- 
ing. I  have  seen  specimens  of  lancewood,  of  apparently 
equal  density,  some  of  which  would  float,  while  others 
would  sink  in  ordinary  well-water. 

The  same  may  be  said  as  to  the  hexagonal  split-bam- 
boo. Since  the  rind  of  this  is  heavier  and  the  pithy  por- 
tion lighter  than  water,  it  follows  that  the  specific  gravi- 
ty of  any  portion  of  such  a  rod  must  vary  as  the  relative 
proportions  of  these  constituents  vary.  Therefore  this 
must  be  greatest  at  the  end  of  the  tip,  and  thence  gradu- 
ally diminish  towards  the  handle.  It  is  believed,  how- 
ever, that  the  average  specific  gravity  of  a  good  eight- 
ounce  rod  of  this  description  will  approximate  closely  to 
the  figures  of  the  table. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  the  United  States 
Forestry  Department  has  conducted  a  series  of  timber 
tests  extending  over  more  than  six  years.  In  scope, 
thoroughness,  and  the  perfection  of  the  testing  methods 
and  appliances  used,  this  series  of  investigations  is  said 
never  to  have  been  equalled  in  its  field. 

The  following  facts  extracted  from  the  Department 
reports  may  possibly  interest  those  who  make  wooden 
rods — particularly  those  who  procure  their  own  mate- 
rial. 

The  main  factor  in  determining  the  strength  of  dif- 
ferent specimens  of  wood  of  the  same  kind  is  its  dry- 
ness. When  air-dry  a  given  stick  will  be  about  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  stronger  than  when  green  or  water-soaked. 
The  reason  of  this  is  very  plain.  The  strength  of  the 
wood  depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  material — the 
cells — of  which  it  i&  Composed.  Moisture  softens  and 
consequently  weakens  the  cell  walls. 


Rods  and  Rod  Material.  207 

That  rod  material  should  be  thoroughly  dry  when 
made  up  is,  therefore,  very  important.  Absolutely  dry 
wood  cannot  be  had.  Destruction  sets  in  before  all 
moisture  is  expelled.  Wood  dried  as  far  as  it  will  dry 
at  a  temperature  of  120"  F.  will  still  lose  moisture  if 
raised  to  the  temperature  of  200"  F.  Thoroughly  dried 
under  cover  in  the  open  air,  wood  still  contains  about 
twelve  per  cent,  of  moisture  ;  in  a  dwelling-house,  arti- 
ficially warmed,  from  eight  to  ten  per  cent.  Wood  may 
be  further  dried  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  120°  F. 
without  injury.  An  inch  stick  takes  twice  as  long  to 
reach  a  given  dryness  as  a  half -inch  stick. 

So  far  the  lesson  is  plain.  We  are  to  cut  our  sticks 
as  small  as  possible,  dry  them  gradually  to  prevent  sea- 
son cracks,  first  air-drying  them  outdoors,  then  in  a 
warm  place  indoors,  and  finally,  if  we  can  find  a  good 
hot  place,  giving  them  some  days  of  that. 

But  wood  absorbs  moisture  from  the  atmosphere  even 
on  the  driest  of  days.  Dry  it  with  all  care,  and  then 
allow  it  to  lie  about  at  ordinary  temperatures,  and  it 
will  begin  to  absorb  moisture  and  deteriorate — rapidly 
at  first,  more  slowly  afterwards.  Also,  as  far  as  strength 
is  concerned,  it  makes  no  difference  whether  the  wood 
is  green  or  whether  it  has  been  dried  in  the  best  man- 
ner and  afterwards  allowed  to  become  moist.  The  cell 
walls  are  equally  softened  and  weakened  in  either 
case. 

Again,  the  lesson  is  plain.  After  finishing  a  joint, 
except,  perhaps,  the  very  last  touch  in  fitting  the  fer- 
rules, we  are  to  give  it  another  dose  of  the  hot  place 
and  varnish  it  as  speedily  as  possible  after  removal 
therefrom. 

Two  or  more  points  from  the  same  source  deserve 


808  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

notice.  Wood  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree  is  more  dense 
and  stronger  than  that  from  the  limbs  or  upper  part  of 
the  tree.  Also  of  two  equally  dry  specimens  of  the 
same  wood,  that  is  the  stronger  which  is  the  heavier — 
or,  in  other  words,  the  cell  walls  are  thicker  in  the 
heavier  sample,  and  it  therefore  contains  more  strength- 
giving  material  to  the  same  bulk. 

And  now,  to  conclude  this  subject,  I  would  most  ear- 
nestly recommend  the  following  to  the  consideration  of 
all  who  contemplate  the  purchase  of  a  fly-rod. 

First :  Buy  the  very  best  and  nothing  else. 

Second  :  Insist  on  the  independent  handle.  By  "  in- 
dependent handle  "  is  meant  one  so  united  to  the  butt- 
joint  by  a  ferrule  that  the  rod  may  be  turned  half-way 
around  in  the  handle  and  back  again  at  frequent  inter- 
vals while  fishing — say  every  half -hour  anyway,  and  al- 
ways immediately  after  the  rod  has  been  subjected  to  a 
heavy  strain.  Thus  the  rod  is  used  with  the  rings  above 
and  below  in  frequent  alternation,  the  strains  to  which 
the  rod  is  subject  offset  and  neutralize  one  another,  and 
the  rod  will  retain  throughout  its  life  that  perfect  iden- 
tity of  action  on  both  the  forward  and  back  cast,  the 
lack  of  which,  in  my  judgment,  is  one  of  the  very  worst 
faults  a  fly-rod  can  have.  If  I  have  ever  seen  a  rod 
wherein  the  butt-joint  and  handle  were  in  one  piece, 
which  had  not  this  defect  after  even  two  seasons'  real 
use,  it  certainly  has  escaped  my  recollection. 

Third  :  If  you  already  have  a  rod  that  suits  you,  do 
not  buy  another,  but  build  up  on  the  old  rod  by  adding 
duplicate  interchangeable  parts  to  it.  If  economy  is  an 
object,  add  a  new  middle  joint  now,  and  a  tip  or  two 
when  next  inclined  to  buy,  and  so  on.     Do  not  accumu- 


Rods  (Mid  Rod  Material.  20g 

late  a  number  of  independent  non-interchangeable  rods, 
for  if  you  do  you  will  not  dare  to  go  on  any  extended 
trip  without  a  bundle  of  rods  as  big  as  your  leg,  whereas 
you  will  be  really  safer  with  a  package  an  inch  and  a 
half  in  diameter  if  the  foregoing  plan  is  followed. 

Fourth  :  If  economy  is  not  an  object,  then  buy  a 
strictly  first-class  rod  with  an  independent  handle,  two 
butt  joints,  three  middles,  and  five  tips,  all  parts  inter- 
changeable. This  is  enough  for  a  trip  to  the  North 
Pole,  and  with  reasonable  care  and  repair  will  last  a 
lifetime.  But  before  going  into  it  on  any  such  whole- 
sale scale,  be  sure  that  you  know  what  you  want  and 
that  you  are  getting  it. 

I  cannot  too  earnestly  recommend  this  method  of 
procedure.  I  speak  from  experience  when  I  say  that 
in  the  long  run  it  will  be  money  in  the  pocket,  a  con- 
venience in  travel,  and  confer  that  peace  of  mind  which 
arises  from  the  sense  of  being  well  prepared  for  every 
emergency. 


310  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 


CHAPTER  VIL 

ROD-MAKING. 

This  chapter  differs  nothing  from  the  others  of  this 
book,  in  that  it  does  not  presume  to  direct,  instruct,  ad- 
monish, or  advise  the  initiated,  whether  professional  or 
amateur. 

If  he  who  proposes  for  the  first  time  to  occupy  his 
leisure  during  the  close  season  with  the  amusement  of 
rod-making,  finds  encouragement  and  aid  in  its  precepts, 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  written  will  be  fully  an- 
swered. 

Before  proceeding  with  specific  directions,  a  word  of 
caution. 

Do  not  expect  at  the  first  effort  and  without  experi- 
ence to  rival  the  production  of  the  trained  mechanic, 
guided  by  the  skill  acquired  through  years  of  daily  prac- 
tice, for  this  will  but  result  in  disappointment  and  dis- 
couragement. Be  but  patient  in  your  labor,  never  hurry- 
ing or  slighting  your  work;  honest  to  yourself  in  the  selec- 
lection  of  your  material,  and  honest  to  the  material  you 
select  in  your  work  upon  it;  and  though  the  result  may 
for  some  time  lack  the  beauty  of  finish  of  that  of  the  pro- 
fessional rod-maker,  still  your  work  will  have  one  great 
merit  which  his  too  often  lacks  —  though  the  apparel 
may  be  less  attractive,  real  intrinsic  worth  will  still  be 
there.  \ 

Do  not  suppose  because  his  tools  are  few  and  simple. 


Rod-making.  211 

and  perhaps  somewhat  primitive  as  compared  to  those  of 
the  present  day,  that  you  can  or  should  use  the  same. 
You  are  handicapped  by  your  lack  of  preliminary  train- 
ing in  their  use,  at  least  as  applied  to  the  purpose  in 
hand,  and  all  the  aid  to  be  derived  from  the  best  possible 
tools  will  be  required  to  overcome  this. 

Your  planes  must  be  strictly  first-class,  and  for  this 
purpose  the  "  Bailey  "  planes,  made  by  the  Stanley  Rule 
and  Level  Company,  are  far  superior  to  any  others  which 
I  have  seen.  In  my  own  work  I  consider  them  indispens- 
able. These  planes  are  of  iron,  are  true  on  the  bot- 
tom, and  the  bit  is  thin  and  easily  sharpened.  But  their 
greatest  merit  for  our  purpose  consists  in  that  the  set  of 
the  bit  is  governed  by  turning  a  screw,  so  that  the  thick- 
ness of  the  shaving  can  be  instantly  regulated  at  will,  and 
to  the  utmost  nicety.  These  may  be  had  at  almost  any 
hardware  dealer's,  or  may  be  ordered  direct  from  the  com- 
pany, at  No.  29  Chambers  Street,  New  York  City.  It  ad- 
vertises, if  the  list-price  be  sent  with  the  order,  to  forward 
to  any  part  of  the  United  States  at  its  expense.  Though 
the  first  cost  of  these  planes  is  in  excess  of  the  wooden 
plane,  their  great  superiority  for  our  purpose  renders 
them  far  cheaper  in  the  end. 

If  it  is  proposed  to  work  both  wood  and  split-bamboo, 
two  sizes  will  be  required — a  fourteen-inch  (No.  5  on  their 
price-list,  at  $3. 75)  and  a  six-inch  (No.  1  on  their  price- 
list,  at  $2.25).  The  former  you  will  mainly  use  in  work- 
ing wood,  the  latter  upon  split-bamboo;  but  the  purchase 
of  both  is  strongly  recommended,  no  matter  with  what 
you  intend  to  deal,  since  at  times  in  the  progress  of  every 
rod  you  will  find  one  serve  far  better  than  the  other.  A 
third  plane,  about  three  and  a  quarter  inches  long,  made 
by  the  same  company  (No.  50  on  their  price-list,  at  forty- 


313  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

five  cents),  will  be  found  exceedingly  convenient  in  round- 
ing and  altering  wooden  joints. 

You  will  also  require  a  ten -inch  "mill -saw"  file,  a 
Morse  twist-drill  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  means  for  driving  it — say  a  common  brace — and  a 
true  surface  to  plane  on.  You  must  also  have  a  few 
scraps  of  thin  saw-steel,  which  a  broken  saw  will  well 
supply.  If  no  broken  saw  is  at  hand,  look  in  some 
trades-paper  for  the  advertisement  of  a  saw-maker,  and 
order  them  from  him,  but  be  sure  you  ask  for  thin  tem- 
pered stuff.  Or  you  may  buy  a  steel  wood-scraper,  such 
as  cabinet-makers  use,  at  any  hardware  store  ;  but  these 
seem  generally  to  be  inferior  to 
Q^^'^-/"^'*'^'^''^''^''^'^"^  the  saw-steel  for  our  use.  Having 
obtained  these  steel  scraps,  lay 
them  on  a  flat  surface,  and  file  a 
y.    gg  number  of  round  notches  of  vari- 

ous sizes  around  the  edge,  thus: 
finishing  with  a  pretty  fine  file.  File  at  a  right  angle  with 
the  steel,  and  sharpen  when  dull  in  the  same  manner. 

By  scraping  the  joint  with  this  tool  after  rounding 
with  the  plane,  you  will  easily  make  your  joints  circular, 
and  be  able  to  dispense  with  an  expensive  set  of  grooved 
planes.  This  scraper  must  be  inclined  to  the  joint  when 
used ;  a  moment's  trial  will  determine  the  angle  at  which 
it  cuts  best. 

A  few  other  tools  will  be  required,  to  be  described  at 
that  stage  in  the  process  to  which  they  are  applicable. 
If  not  already  done,  the  chapter  on  Rods  should  be 
read  in  conjunction  with  this,  since  such  special  pecul- 
iarities in  working  as  each  material  was  thought  to  pos- 
sess, have  been  there  stated. 

As  to  those  materials,  it  may  be  said  once  for  all  that 


L.^ 


Bod-making.  218 

an  excellent  rod  can  be  made  from  almost  any  of  them. 
If  the  stuff  is  good  of  its  kind,  the  result  depends  upon 
the  proportionate  thickness  and  taper  used.  And  here 
you  have  a  decided  advantage  over  the  professional  rod- 
maker.  He  makes  his  rods  to  earn  his  daily  bread. 
Often  he  must  select  the  worse  when  a  better  course  is 
well  known  to  him,  and  this  to  meet  the  real  or  fancied 
whim  of  the  ordinary  purchaser,  upon  whom  he  relies  to 
dispose  of  his  goods. 

Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  actual  or  sup- 
posed requirement  that  the  butt,  middle  joint,  and  tip 
shall  each  be  of  equal  length.  This  certainly  has  some- 
thing in  its  favor,  since,  when  the  rod  is  apart,  each 
joint  lends  support  to  the  others  against  accident  in 
transportation.  But  a  little  lengthening  of  the  tip-case 
will  accomplish  the  same  result,  unless  it  be  in  carrying 
the  rod  from  the  temporary  lodging-place  of  the  angler 
to  the  stream  he  intends  to  fish,  when  the  tip-case  is 
usually  left  behind.  The  life  of  a  rod  is  in  the  middle 
joint ;  and  by  the  usual  method  the  ferrule  uniting  the 
butt  to  that  joint  is  about  as  injuriously  located  as  it 
well  can  be.  It  is  advisable,  therefore,  to  compromise  on 
this,  and  make  the  butt  as  short  and  the  middle  joint  as 
long  as  the  distance  you  expect  to  carry  your  rod  to 
water,  and  the  risk  and  inconvenience  of  your  usual 
means  of  travel,  will  permit. 

Another  fashion  which  you  will  do  well  to  eschew  is 
the  struggle  for  excessive  lightness.  Some  seem  to 
fancy  that  an  angler  is  entitled  to  rank  in  the  brother- 
hood in  inverse  proportion  to  the  weight  of  rod  he  uses, 
and  that  irrespective  of  the  waters  to  be  fished.  But 
such  is  not  the  opinion  of  the  judicious.  He  views  with 
a  smile  of  pity  the  effort  to  make  a  wooden  rod  with  its 


214  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

solid  handle,  as  light  or  lighter  than  a  split-bamboo  of 
equal  length,  with  its  hollow  half-cedar  gripe.  To  save 
weight,  or,  what  is  equivalent,  leverage  against  the  an- 
gler, by  shortening  the  rod  as  far  as  is  consistent  with 
perhaps  a  little  more  than  a  fair  working  cast,  is  wise. 
For  who  wishes  to  lug  useless  weight  all  day  long  to  no 
good  purpose ;  the  same  end,  and  with  far  less  incon- 
venience, would  be  accomplished  by  filling  the  pockets 
with  stones.  Ten  feet,  or  ten  feet  six  inches,  I  believe 
to  be  quite  sufficient  length  to  give  to  any  single-handed 
fly-rod.  With  this,  ordinary  skill  can  handle  sixty  feet 
of  line  at  a  pinch;  and  we  all  know  that  in  actual  fishing 
nine  hundred  and  ninety  casts  out  of  a  thousand  will 
fall  within  forty  measured  feet.  When  you  read  or 
hear  (as  you  have  or  will)  of  an  angler  wading  down 
stream,  or  sitting  in  a  boat,  and  casting  seventy  feet  as 
a  mere  matter  of  course,  and  not  at  all  aside  from  his 
usual  practice,  you  may  feel  confident  those  feet  were 
of  other  than  the  English  standard. 

The  skilled  angler  limits  his  cast  by  preference  to  that 
distance,  within  which  he  can  without  effort  deliver  a 
fair  straight  line  and  a  light  fly.  It  is  only  he  who  oc- 
cupies debatable  ground,  who  while  not  quite  a  green- 
horn is  yet  by  no  means  an  angler,  whom  you  will  see, 
in  boat  or  on  stream,  needlessly  swishing  his  sixty  or 
seventy  feet  of  line.  Better  by  far  to  cast  fifty  feet 
clean  and  clear,  than  to  boggle  about  at  sixty  or  sixty- 
five,  and  then  by  some  happy  combination  of  circum- 
stances, and  after  repeated  effort,  at  last  reach  even 
eighty.  With  excellent  and  protracted  opportunity  to 
observe  many  very  skilful  anglers,  I  cannot  recall  one 
single  instance  of  a  cast  in  actual  fishing  that  would  ex- 
ceed sixty-five  measured  feet.     Not  that  many  of  these 


HodrTnaking.  215 

could  not  considerably  surpass  that  distance,  but  the 
effort  would  have  been  purposeless  and  was  not  made. 
But  this  is  a  digression.     Let  us  return  to  rod-making. 

Give  your  rod  nerve — backbone — so  that  when  you 
take  it  in  hand  it  feels  as  if  the  tip  were  absolutely  under 
command,  even  when  weighted  with  forty  feet  of  the 
line  it  is  proposed  to  use.  It  should  be  pliable,  and 
when  swung  horizontally,  holding  the  handle  quite  still, 
it  should  work  evenly  from  the  butt,  and  with  a  constant 
and  even  increase  of  uniform  action  quite  to  the  tip. 
Look  first  to  this,  then  give  it  as  much  lightness  as  the 
material  you  use  will  permit.  Should  you  by  accident 
or  mistake  carry  the  latter  so  far  as  to  impair  the  former, 
shorten  the  middle  joint  at  the  smaller  end.  An  inch 
or  two  will  make  a  wonderful  difference  in  this  respect. 
Every  way  better  and  more  efficient  is  a  rod  of  nine  feet 
six  inches,  of  just  proportion  and  true  action,  than  a 
faulty  one  of  ten  feet  six. 

Now  let  us  lay  out  our  rod.  It  will  be  noticed  I  give 
no  sizes  for  ferrules.  Almost  any  size  within  reason 
may  be  used,  depending  solely  on  where  you  place  them. 
But  one  direction  in  this  respect  is  of  any  practical 
value;  all  else  will  determine  itself.  Begin  the  taper 
of  the  rod  as  near  the  handle  as  possible,  that  with  the 
length  you  have  determined  on,  you  may  make  the 
greatest  possible  proportion  of  that  length  efficient. 
Through  neglect  of  this,  many  a  rod  which  actually 
measures  a  good  eleven  feet,  is  practically  the  inferior 
of  one  of  six  inches  or  even  a  foot  less.  It  is  the  part 
that  springs — the  part  that  works  that  does  the  business; 
therefore  make  your  handle  short,  and  give  as  much  action 
to  the  butt  joint  as  you  can,  but  always  retaining  perfect 
command  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  rod. 


216  Fly-rods  cmd  FVy-tacMe, 

It  must  be  admitted  that  many  excellent  anglers  prefer 
a  "  top-heavy  "  rod — one  weak  in  the  middle  joint.  They 
say  it  casts  more  easily.  This  may  he,  doubtless  is,  true 
as  far  as  they  are  concerned,  for  habit  will  reconcile  man 
to  anything  except  the  toothache.  But  that  a  beginner 
will  find  this  so  may  well  be  questioned.  Conceding, 
however,  this  point,  there  is  no  other  one  thing  which  a 
fly-rod  should  do,  in  which  such  a  rod  is  not  at  a  disad- 
vantage. It  is  neither  so  sure  on  the  strike,  nor  so  cer- 
tain in  the  hold.  It  will  not  begin  to  give  the  angler  the 
same  all  -  important  control  of  a  heavy  fish;  while  the 
curve  it  assumes  under  strain,  instead  of  being  a  thing 
of  beauty,  is  an  eyesore  to  every  one  but  its  infatuated 
owner.  It  is  as  sightly  as  a  broken-backed  steamboat, 
and  not  a  whit  more  so. 

For  a  twelve-foot  fly-rod,  half  an  inch  in  diameter  at 
the  point  where  the  taper  begins  is  quite  sufficient.  For 
a  rod  of  ten  and  a  half  feet,  fifteen  thirty  -  seconds  of 
an  inch  is  ample.  Start  then  with  this,  and  procure  the 
ferrule,  to  be  placed  immediately  above  the  handle,  of  a 
corresponding  size.  Should  you  find  the  butt  joint  too 
stiff  when  the  rod  is  together,  you  can  reduce  it  by  a 
sudden  taper  immediately  above  the  ferrule. 

Now  lay  out  your  work,  thus :  Take  a  smooth  pine 
board,  say  four  feet  long.  Mark  the  diameter  of  the  in- 
side of  your  butt  ferrule  at  one  end,  and  of  the  small 
end  of  your  tip  at  the  other,  separated  by  a  distance  in 
inches  easily  divisible  as  shown  in  the  illustration  on  the 
opposite  page  (Fig.  34). 

Length  of  rod  10  feet  6  inches,  equals  126  inches ;  less 
length  of  handle,  10  inches,  equals  116  inches;  divide 
this  into  a  number  of  equal  parts — 13  will  answer  well — 
making  each  division  bear  the  same  proportion  to  the 


Rod-making, 


217 


length  of  the  diagram,  that  9  inches  does 
to  the  working  length  of  the  rod — 116 
inches  (so  very  nearly  that  we  may  neg- 
lect the  error).  Draw  straight  lines  at 
a  right  angle  to  the  axis  of  the  rod  at 
each  of  these  13  divisions,  and  number 
them  as  in  the  diagram,  calling  each 
space  so  formed  9  inches  long.  It  will 
be  seen  that  we  have  thus  determined 
the  diameter  of  the  rod  for  every  9 
inches  of  its  working  length;  and  that 
to  find  what  it  should  be  at  any  point — 
say  54  inches  from  the  handle,  for  ex- 
ample— all  we  have  to  do  is  to  measure 
the  perpendicular  line  at  the  point  54, 
and  we  have  it. 

From  the  diagram  already  constructed 
you  have  determined  where  the  ferrules 
shall  be  located,  and  also  the  inner  di- 
ameter of  the  outside  or  female  ferrule. 
Now  having  cut  your  wood  about  an 
inch  longer  than  the  ultimate  length  of 
the  proposed  joint,  square  it  with  the 
plane.  Then 
drill  two  holes, 
a  and  h  (Fig. 
35),  through 
each  of  the 
joints  at  right 
angle  with  one 
another:  one,  say  at  half  an  inch,  and 
the  other  at  three-quarters  from  that 
which  is  to  be  the  larger  end. 


Inches. 
0.  .. 


18.. 


irlm. 


27. 


36. 


46.. 


64.. 


63.. 


n. 


81.. 


90. 


»9.. 


108. 


116.. 


iflg. 


34. 


218  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacUe. 

Provide  a  piece  of  brass  wire  a  little  smaller  than  the 
holes,  from  which  you  are  to  make  a  pin,  and  drive  it 
into  your  planing-board.  By  placing  the  holes  over  the 
pin  you  will  be  able  to  hold  your  joint  while  planing  ; 
and  the  strain  will  be  a  pull,  and  not  a  push,  as  would 
be  the  case  if  your  joint  was  kept  in  place  in  the  usual 
manner,  by  butting  the  end  against  a  support.  Thus 
your  joint  will  be  less  likely  to  crook,  or  break  under  the 
plane.  But  before  beginning  to  plane,  you  should  pre- 
pare gauges  to  caliper  the  joint  from  time  to  time  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  work. 

Take  a  thin  piece  of  metal — brass  is  best — and  file  in 
its  edges  thirteen  square  notches,  each  equal  in  width  to 
the  length  of  one  of  the  perpendicular  lines  in  your  dia- 

i_^  ,^  ri  n  n  n_n   ^'*^'^'  ^^  ^"^  ^'^'  ^^*    -^^  *^^^ 

I   Li   Li   LJ  LJ  LJ  LJ       ^^ll\^  care,  that  the  sides  of  each 

* — '    notch  be  parallel  —  of  a  depth 

^'    *  equal  to   their  width,  and  of  a 

width  exactly  equal  to  the  length  of  the  appro- 
priate line.    Then  number  each  notch  to  corre-     I      | 
spond  with  its  appropriate  line ;  the  widest  will  — i 

then  be  numbered  0,  the  next  9,  the  next  18,     p.   g^ 
and  so  on.    Also,  by  drawing  a  diagram  for  the 
purpose,  or  by  using  an  ordinary  square,  file  up  a  small 
square  in  a  piece  of  brass  of  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  to  the  side,  as  in  Fig.  37. 

You  will  have  noticed  before  applying  the  plane 
whether  the  wood  you  are  about  to  work  into  a  joint  is 
straight  or  not,  and  probably  have  found  it  crooked. 
These  crooks  arise  from  unequal  contraction  in  season- 
ing, the  tendency  being  to  curve  away  from  the  heart 
of  the  tree.  They  incline  to  be  persistent,  and  to  recur 
after  straightening.   Therefore,  if  possible,  plane  the  joint 


Rodrmaking.  219 

straight.  But  if  not,  the  stick  must  be  straightened  by 
the  aid  of  heat.  To  do  this,  heat  the  wood  as  hot  as 
you  can  well  bear  your  hand  upon  it.  Unless  the  stick 
is  small,  this  must  be  done  gradually,  heating  it  as  hot 
as  you  dare,  then  letting  it  stand  a  while  for  the  exte- 
rior to  impart  its  warmth  to  the  interior,  and  then,  when 
the  surface  has  cooled  somewhat,  heating  again,  repeat- 
ing this  until  it  is  warmed  through.  It  can  then  be 
straightened,  and  Inay  remain  straight  provided  no  at- 
tempt is  made  to  work  upon  it  until  it  is  perfectly  cold. 
You  will  also  often  find  the  joint  crook  under  the  plane. 
In  this  case,  it  is  best  to  wait  until  the  joint  is  finished 
before  correcting  it.  It  need  cause  no  uneasiness,  since 
nearly  every  joint  before  varnishing  and  when  otherwise 
finished,  requires  attention  in  this  respect. 

Now  drive  your  brass  pin  into  the  planing-board,  or 
board  upon  which  you  propose  to  rest  your  joint  when 
planing  it.  Then,  making  proper  allowance  for  the  ex- 
cess of  length  in  the  joint,  draw  a  straight  line  on  the 
board  equal  in  length  to  the  proposed  joint  when  finished. 
Divide  it  up  into  spaces,  each  nine  inches  long,  and  num- 
ber them  plainly.  By  laying  your  joint  beside  this  line, 
you  can  at  any  moment  ascertain  exactly  where  any  cal- 
iper notch  should  be  applied  to  determine  when  the 
proper  thickness  is  reached,  without  the  trouble  of  meas- 
uring every  time.  Then  secure  your  joint  by  placing  one 
of  the  drill-holes  over  the  pin,  and  plane  away — first  on 
one  and  then  on  the  opposite  side,  changing  frequently 
from  one  to  the  other.  Use  the  utmost  care  to  keep  the 
two  sides  parallel.  You  will  know  this  is  the  case  if 
both  edges  are  of  like  width.  When  you  approach  the 
proper  taper,  set  your  plane  very  fine,  and  use  your  gauge 
often.     Be  patient,  remembering  that  haste  is  the  sure 


330  Fly-rods  am,d  Fly-tackle. 

precursor  of  error.  Having  finished  two  of  the  sides, 
plane  the  taper  into  the  remaining  two  in  like  manner, 
but  be  sure  to  keep  the  stick  square. 

This  is  the  time  to  test  your  material.  Bend  it  to- 
wards each  of  the  four  sides,  and  don't  be  gingerly  about 
it  either.  If  your  ship  must  sink,  let  it  be  while  you  are 
ashore.  The  strain  should  be  applied  when  the  taper  is 
almost,  better  still  if  quite,  complete.  Hold  the  bend  in 
the  joint  till  you  can  count  thirty  with  moderate  slow- 
ness. Then  release  it,  and  see  if  it  has  regained  its  orig- 
inal shape.  If  it  has,  your  wood  is  first-class;  and  con- 
gratulating yourself  on  your  good-fortune,  redouble  your 
care  that  no  error  on  your  part  spoil  it.  If  it  neither 
splinter  nor  break,  but  does  "  set,"  ^.€.,  does  not  resume 
its  original  shape,  the  better  course  is  to  suspend  it  by 
one  end  where  the  air  will  have  free  access  to  it,  and  let 
it  season  for  a  few  months.  We  have  seen  from  the 
conclusion  of  the  preceding  chapter  that  the  strength 
and  elasticity  of  wood  depends  almost  wholly  upon  the 
amount  of  moisture  it  contains,  and  why  this  is  so  ;  that 
dried  in  an  artificially  warmed  house  from  eight  to  ten 
per  cent,  of  moisture  still  remains  ;  and  that  wood  may 
be  subjected  to  a  temperature  up  to  120°  F.  without  in- 
jury, and  with  further  loss  of  water.  If,  therefore,  a 
hot  closet  is  at  hand  where  the  temperature  does  not 
exceed  that  given  above,  the  joint  may  be  suspended 
there  until  its  improved  elasticity  shows  that  it  is  sufii- 
ciently  dried  out.  Something,  a  piece  of  cloth  for 
example,  should  be  interposed  between  the  joint  and 
the  source  of  heat  to  prevent  one  side  being  heated 
hotter  than  the  others,  lest  it  dry  unequally  and  sea- 
son-crack. If  the  "set"  is  slight,  you  may  at  the 
same  time  regret  and  ignore  it,  and  proceed  to  finish 


Rod-making,  221 

the  rod  ;  though  even  then  the  former  course  is  the 
more  judicious.  The  object  is  to  obtain  the  greatest 
strength  and  elasticity  of  which  the  material  is  capable. 
To  accomplish  this  we  have  learned  that  all  moisture 
must  be  expelled  which  can  be  driven  off  without  over- 
heating the  wood.  But  there  are  other  points  not  to  be 
overlooked.  Dried  wood  absorbs  moisture  from  the  at- 
mosphere with  great  rapidity;  and,  as  far  as  strength  and 
elasticity  are  concerned,  it  is  immaterial  whether  the  in- 
jurious moisture  is  that  originally  present  in  the  wood, 
or  is  acquired  by  absorption  from  the  air.  To  obtain  the 
best  results,  the  joint  should  be  removed  from  the  dry- 
ing-room after  it  has  been  there  some  time  and  finished 
ready  to  varnish.  Then  it  should  be  dried  again  for  a  few 
days,  and  then  removed  and  varnished  while  still  warm. 

Let  us  assume  the  test  has  been  applied,  and  with  sat- 
isfactory result.  Take  the  joint  in  your  left  hand,  and 
with  your  pocket-knife  trim  off  the  corners  for  about  half 
or  three-quarters  of  an  inch  at  the  larger  end,  till  you 
have  reduced  the  section  of  that  end  to  an  octagon, 
as  shown  by  Fig.  38  (the  dotted  lines  represent  where 
your  cutting  is  to  cease). 

Work  a  little  at  each  edge  in  succession,  using  care 
that  when  you  finish,  each  of  the  eight  sides  is  equal,  and 
your  octagon  perfect  in  form.  You  must  by  no  means 
in  so  doing  touch  either  of  the  four  planed  sides — only 
the  corners  are  to  be  cut.  Now,  treat  the  smaller  end  in 
the  same  way.  The  two  ends  will  then  serve  as  a  guide 
to  inform  you  when  you  have  planed  the  whole  joint  to 
an  octagon,  which  is  your  next  step. 

To  do  this  successfully  you  should  have  a  grooved 
■trip  of  pine  in  which  to  lay  the  joint.  Any  carpenter 
can  make  one  for  you,  or  you  can  make  it  yourself  by 


222 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 


planing  off  the  corners  of  two  pieces  of  f-inch  stuff,  and 
afterwards  nailing,  screwing,  or  gluing  them  together, 
as  in  Fig.  39. 


Fig.  38. 


L 

^ 

i 

1 

1 

Fis.  39. 


Or  a  strip  sawn  off  the  grooved  edge  of  a  "  tongued  and 
grooved  "  board  will  answer,  though  not  so  well. 

Now,  drill  two  more  holes  as  before,  but  this  time  in 
the  middle  of  the  new  faces;  put  a  brass  pin  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  groove,  hook  on  the  joint,  and  plane  off  the 
corners  in  turn,  till  the  joint  is  octagonal  throughout, 
and  your  eye  informs  you  that  the  taper  is  uniform.  Be 
careful,  be  patient,  and  don't  hurry.  Now,  with  your 
small  plane  take  off  each  of  the  eight  corners,  rounding 
them  a  little,  and  your  joint  will  be  nearly  circular. 

Set  it  one  side,  and  proceed  to  square  and  taper  the 
other  joints  in  the  same  way,  but  not  to  round  them  till 
you  have  taken  the  following  step:  Apply  your  male,  or 
inside,  ferrule  to  the  larger  end  of  your  middle  joint  or 
tip.  You  will  find  it  too  large  to  enter.  Turn  that  end 
from  you,  and  plane  off  a  shaving  or  two,  and  the  same 
number,  from  each  face,  and  try  it  again.  Continue  this 
until  small  enough,  using  the  utmost  caution  to  avoid 


Bod-making.  223 

excess,  and  also  to  treat  each  side  alike,  lest  your  fer- 
rules set  crooked  when  in  position.  You  will  thus  take 
the  taper  out  of  a  few  inches  at  that  part  of  your  joint, 
which  will  then  be  of  uniform  diameter,  and  you  must 
work  with  that  end  in  view;  for  the  rod  is  flexible,  but 
the  ferrule  is  not,  and  this  method  seems  best  to  harmo- 
nize these  discordant  characteristics.  Then  reduce  the 
joint  to  an  octagon,  and  after  that  test  and  round  as  be- 
fore. The  next  step  is  to  fit  the  ferrules,  for  which  use 
your  scraper,  file,  and  care.  Locate  the  male  ferrules  so 
that  the  excess  of  length  originally  allowed  will  protrude 
beyond  them;  and  after  the  ferrule  is  fastened,  cut  off 
this  excess.  You  will  thus  be  rid  of  the  holes,  and  for 
this  purpose  the  extra  length  was  allowed.  If  you  get 
the  wood  a  little  too  small  you  need  not  break  your  heart 
over  it,  since  many  purposely  do  this,  and  then  enlarge 
the  wood  to  fit  by  wrapping  it  with  thread,  claiming  that 
the  ferrules  thus  hold  better,  and  are  less  likely  to  be- 
come loose.  If  you  use  thread  for  this  purpose,  wind  it 
on  evenly,  so  one  part  does  not  overlay  another  (unless 
more  than  one  layer  is  required  to  make  a  fit),  and  paste 
it  down  with  some  of  the  cement  you  propose  to  fasten 
your  ferrules  with.  Then  melt  the  cement  thoroughly 
through  the  thread,  completely  saturating  it.  Next  warm 
your  ferrule,  place  a  small  piece  of  cement  inside  on  that 
part  which  is  to  be  united  to  the  joint,  and  work  it  about 
with  a  small  stick  till  the  inside  is  coated. 

In  setting  a  female,  or  outside,  ferrule,  it  must  not  be 
pushed  on  beyond  the  proper  distance,  or  a  part  of  that 
portion  of  its  interior  intended  to  receive  the  male  fer- 
rule may  become  coated  with  cement,  and  compel  the 
removal  and  cleansing  of  the  ferrule.  To  avoid  the  pos- 
sibility of  this,  prepare  a  piece  of  wood  one-sixteenth  of 


224  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

an  inch  longer  than  the  entering  part  of  the  male  ferrule, 
and  drop  it  inside  of  the  female  ferrule  when  about  to  set 
it.  As  that  ferrule  is  pushed  on,  the  wood  will  move  be- 
fore the  entering  joint.  If  the  last  quarter  of  an  inch  is  in- 
serted by  thrusting  the  ferrule  against  any  solid  substance, 
the  wood  will  strike  when  the  proper  point  is  reached,  and 
prevent  the  ferrule  from  being  pushed  beyond  it. 

Having  coated  both  the  joint  and  the  inside  of  the  fer- 
rule, melt  the  cement  on  both,  and  push  the  ferrule  into 
place,  giving  it  a  twisting  motion  in  so  doing,  if  possible. 
The  excess  of  cement  (and  an  excess  should  be  applied) 
will  be  crowded  before  the  ferrule.  Then  wet  a  knife, 
that  the  cement  may  not  adhere  to  it,  and  take  it  up  for 
use  another  time.  Warm  the  rest  till  fluid,  and  wipe  it 
off  clean  with  a  rag.  Should  any  of  the  thread  have 
been  pushed  down  before  the  ferrule,  be  careful  in  re- 
moving it  to  make  no  transverse  cut  in  the  wood,  for 
such  a  cut,  though  hardly  perceptible,  will  detract  thirty 
per  cent.,  if  not  more,  from  the  strength  of  the  joint. 

Here  it  might  well  be  asked  what  cement  should  be 
used.  To  this  it  may  be  answered,  avoid  shellac  and 
red-lead — or  white-lead,  or  anything  which  sets  as  hard 
as  a  stone,  and  which,  should  the  joint  break  at  the  fer- 
rule, will  require  a  degree  of  heat  sufficient  to  anneal  the 
metal  before  the  broken  piece  can  be  pushed  out. 

I  have  used  hard  shoemaker's  wax,  gas-fittter's  red- 
wax,  engraver's  wax,  marine  glue,  Bottom's  cement,  gut- 
ta-percha gum,  and  shellac.  The  latter  is  most  common- 
ly used  in  scales,  not  in  solution  unless  it  be  very  thick. 
The  desiderata  are  a  cement  which  will  melt  and  release 
the  ferrule  at  a  low  temperature,  but  which  will  other- 
wise hold  fast.  At  the  edge  of  the  ferrules  is  the  weak- 
est part  of  the  rod,  and  there  at  least  three  out  of  five — 


Bod-maJcing.  225 

I  think  it  would  be  safe  to  say  four  out  of  five — breaks 
occur.  To  be  able  to  repair  such  damage  with  the  aid 
of  a  few  matches  and  a  pocket-knife,  and  to  resume  fish- 
ing promptly,  is  therefore  very  important.  Even  though 
this  could  be  had  but  at  the  cost  of  ten  times  the  time 
and  trouble  at  home,  the  difference  of  occasion  and  facil- 
ity considered,  it  would  still  be  cheap.  During  the  win- 
ter, ferrules  so  fastened  are  apt  to  become  loose,  particu- 
larly if  the  rod  has  been  kept  in  a  heated  room.  But 
ten  minutes'  work  at  the  beginning  of  the  open  season 
will  remedy  all  that.  If  you  have  the  ability  to  make  a 
rod,  you  certainly  can  reset  the  ferrules  on  that  rod. 

Avoid  all  fastening  pins.  The  professional  rod-makers 
fancy  they  are  necessary  to  the  sale,  or  at  least  the  repu- 
tation, of  their  rods.  Some  fishermen  think  that  any  rod 
they  buy  and  pay  for  should  stand  every  form  of  abuse, 
and  if  it  does  not,  the  rod-maker  is  blamed  and  his  work 
decried.  The  makers  know  this,  and  that  their  reputation 
for  skilled  and  honest  work  is  as  sensitive  as  that  of  a 
woman.  It  is  for  this  class  the  fastening  pin  is  intended. 
You  will  hear  each  of  the  better  known  makers  abused  in 
turn,  something  in  this  fashion :  "  Oh,  yes,  John  Doe  made 
a  good  rod  once  upon  a  time,  but  now  his  business  is  so 
grown  that  he  trades  upon  his  reputation,  and  uses  any 
kind  of  material,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  Why,  my 
friend  bought  one  of  his  rods,  and  the  very  first  fish  he 
caught — and  it  wasn't  longer  than  your  hand — it  broke;" 
or,  "  after  he  had  used  it  one  season  it  was  crooked  as  a 
ram's  horn,"  etc.  The  facts  in  such  cases  are  usually 
true,  but  they  are  not  unfrequently  cases  of  partial  truth 
only.  If  you  knew  in  the  one  case  that  the  fish  struck 
when  the  rod  was  perpendicular,  so  that  it  could  not 

bend  ;  or  in  the  other,  that  the  rod  was  habitually  left 
16  ^ 


226  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

standing  or  lying  supported  on  the  butt  and  tip  alone, 
or  kept  bent  month  after  month  in  a  bag  tied  tight 
around  the  middle,  you  would  draw  quite  a  different 
inference.  To  such  of  my  readers  as  wish  to  buy  and 
do  not  care  to  make,  I  would  sav  that  that  maker  who 
has  a  reputation,  will  do  his  best  to  maintain  it.  If  he 
once  turned  out  good  work,  competition  will  force  him 
to  do  so  still.  If  he  has  the  skill,  you  may  be  sure  he 
will  use  it.  No  one  knows  better  than  he  that  one  bad 
rod  will  do  him  more  harm  than  a  hundred,  first  -  class 
in  every  respect,  will  benefit  him ;  and  if  he  sells  the 
rod  with  his  name  upon  it,  he  believes  it,  and  chances 
are  ninety -nine  out  of  a  hundred  you  will  find  it,  all 
right,  as  far  as  concealed  defects  are  concerned. 

During  this  digression  you  are  supposed  to  have  fast- 
ened your  ferrules,  for  which  you  have  had  ample  time. 
Now,  take  your  scraper  with  the  semicircular  notches, 
and  proceed  to  round  your  rod.  This  is  soon  done. 
Joint  your  rod,  put  the  butt  joint  to  the  handle,  and  with 
reel  in  place  see  how  it  feels.  If  any  ferrule  is  not  in 
line,  warm  and  straighten  it  if  you  can.  If  you  cannot, 
set  the  rod  so  the  crook  is  uppermost,  ^.€.,  so  that  the  rod 
sets  upward  from  the  straight  line.  If  too  withy,  shorten 
the  middle  joint  at  the  small  end  an  inch  or  two,  and  try 
it  again.  A  very  little  change  here  makes  a  great  differ- 
ence in  the  leverage,  and  consequently  in  the  feel  and 
action.  If  still  too  weak,  shorten  the  tip  at  the  larger 
end ;  and  if  the  fault  still  exists,  shorten  the  small  end 
of  the  middle  joint  again.  This  method  will  at  last 
surely  remedy  this  fault,  but  whether  at  too  great  a 
sacrifice  of  length  you  must  judge.  But  I  would  not 
advise  that  the  rod  be  thrown  away  as  a  failure  if  the 
material  is  good,  unless  you  are  obliged  to  reduce  it  be- 


Rod-making,  227 

low  nine  feet  six  inches,  a  contingency  hardly  possible 
if  you  planned  a  ten  foot  six,  or  even  a  ten-foot  rod. 
If  too  stiff,  before  you  proceed  to  weaken  it,  impress  a 
friend  to  hold  the  handle,  hang  a  weight  on  the  tip,  and 
put  a  good  smart  strain  on  the  rod.  If  its  curve  is  even 
and  true,  thin  the  rod  all  over,  except  the  upper  part  of 
the  tip.  If  it  is  not,  mark  the  stiff  places  with  a  pencil, 
and  work  them  off.  Get  a  true  curve  first  before  you 
begin  to  think  of  reducing  the  rod  generally,  for  with- 
out this  a  fly-rod  is  an  abortion.  When  present,  you 
will  know  the  strain  is  diffused  equally,  and  that  each 
inch  is  contributing  its  best  to  the  general  integrity  of 
the  whole.  When  you  think  the  golden  mean  between 
stiffness  and  flexibility  is  reached,  if  circumstances  per- 
mit fasten  on  a  few  rings  temporarily,  rig  your  line,  and 
go  out  on  the  grass,  or  on  top  of  the  house — any  place 
where  you  can  get  a  clear  range — and  try  its  casting 
powers.  If  you  can  borrow  a  good  rod,  or  secure  the  as- 
sistance of  a  friend  who  has  one,  try  first  one  and  then  the 
other — alter  if  need  be,  and  try  again ;  be  patient  and 
painstaking,  and  I  shall  be  much  mistaken  if  you  do  not 
turn  out  a  very  respectable  rod,  even  at  your  first  effort. 

Finish  with  sand-paper,  first  No.  1,  afterwards  No.  0, 
turning  the  joint  constantly,  while  you  rub  the  sand- 
paper longitudinally.  Get  a  good  smooth  finish,  for  it 
will  save  much  time  and  trouble  in  varnishing,  and  is 
essential  if  you  wish  the  rod  to  look  well. 

If  the  material  of  which  the  rod  was  composed  were 
perfectly  homogeneous,  and  without  ferrules,  strict  ad- 
herence to  our  diagram  would  give  the  desired  result. 
But  such  is  never  the  case.  No  two  pieces  of  wood  are 
alike,  even  though  from  the  same  tree.  Much  less  then 
can  this  be  the  case  when  the  rod  is  composite  in  char- 


228  Fly-rods  and  Fly -tackle. 

acter.  Our  diagram  is  as  the  place  of  departure  to  the 
navigator,  a  fixed  and  known  point  from  which  to  shape 
our  course  towards  a  goal  we  cannot  see.  In  all  cases 
it  will  require  some,  in  no  two  cases  the  same,  modifica- 
tion. Here  enters  in  the  skill  and  personal  equation  of 
the  maker.  In  this  I  can  give  you  no  assistance,  beyond 
the  advice  to  make  your  changes  slowly — allow  no  de- 
parture from  a  true  curve  when  the  rod  is  bent — and 
insist  that  the  action  is  such  that  the  tip  is  absolutely 
under  the  command  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  rod. 
Remember  that  a  rod  twelve  feet,  and  one  nine  feet  six 
inches  long,  should  and  may  have  the  same  flexibility 
and  action.  Some,  to-day,  still  praise  the  long  rod  and 
decry  the  shorter,  just  as  some  still  oppose  the  breech- 
loader. Six  or  seven  years  ago  the  cry  was  that  the  short 
rod  was  fit  only  for  short  casts  and  baby-fishing.  Now 
the  tune  has  changed,  and  the  short  rod  is  fit  only  for 
long  distance  casting.  Neither  is  true.  Because  a  short 
rod  is  desired  that  the  excessive  weight  of  the  long  rod 
(or  apparent  weight  of  its  greater  leverage)  may  be 
avoided,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  resort  must  be  had 
to  a  poker.  So  again  I  say,  give  your  rod  all  the  flexi- 
bility you  can,  but  be  sure  it  is  uniform,  and  that  you 
retain  beyond  suspicion  absolute  command  of  the  tip. 
In  so  doing,  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  rod  is 
weighted  with  the  line  when  in  use,  and  consequently, 
that  a  degree  of  flexibility  which  seems  excellent  in  the 
shop  may  be  excessive  when  on  the  stream.  Hence,  gov- 
ern the  final  adjustment  of  the  rod  by  actual  casting,  if 
possible. 

FERRULES. 

It  does  seem  as  though  some  precise  diameter  should 
be  given  for  the  ferrules  of  fly-rods,  but  from  the  very 


Hod-making.  229 

nature  of  the  case  it  is  impossible.    As  well  ask  a  tailof 
for  a  coat  of  the  size  to  fit  all  men. 

I  have  used  the  following  for  years :  Handle  female  fer- 
rule, inside  measurement,  -i^  of  an  inch,  length  2|^  inches, 
unless  ferrule  is  sunk  into  the  handle  so  only  its  mouth 
appears.  Then  it  should  run  the  whole  length  of  the 
gripe,  and  be  fastened  with  cement  as  heretofore  di- 
rected. This  is  the  better  construction,  since  then  the 
utmost  possible  length  of  the  rod  is  efficient.  The  fe- 
male ferrule  uniting  the  butt  and  middle  joint  is  ^  of 
an  inch  inside  and  2^  inches  long.  The  female  ferrule 
uniting  the  middle  joint  and  tip  is  ^  of  an  inch  inside 
and  2^  inches  long.  One-eighth  of  an  inch  may  be  taken 
off  these  ferrules  throughout  the  series  with  profit,  if 
the  fitting  is  tolerably  good.  I  vary  the  position  of 
the  ferrule,  uniting  the  butt  and  middle  joint  consider- 
ably, shortening  the  butt  and  lengthening  the  middle 
joint  for  stiffer  material  such  as  split  -  bamboo,  green- 
heart,  or  bethabara.  These  sizes  I  have  used  without 
change,  and  find  that  with  them,  in  conjunction  with  a 
forty-one  inch  split-bamboo  tip,  I  can  make  a  rod  of  any 
material  from  nine  feet  eight  inches  to  ten  feet  six  inch- 
es in  length,  by  varying  the  position  of  the  juncture  of 
the  butt  and  middle  joint  as  aforesaid.  The  male  fer- 
rule on  the  larger  end  of  the  tip  is  l-j^  inches  long,  of 
which  ^  of  an  inch  is  cap.  I  cap  all  male  ferrules  so 
that   the   joint   at   those  <^ 

ferrules  may  be  the  same,      |iiii\iuuuM\i\utuuuuiu\\\uii<ro«i»iniiiiiiiiiiillitiil^ 
or  nearly  the  same,  diam-  a  b 

eter    as    the    end    of    the      Fig,  40.-4,  male  ferrule;    B,  cap;    c, 
x^x^4.      ^^,.4.      «^„«««      *.\.^  point  where  male  ferrule  ends. 

jomt    next     nearer    the 

handle.     The   cap   is   united   to   the  other  portion   of 

the  ferrule  by  soft  solder,  and  for  one-third  its  length, 


230  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

and  the  shoulder  formed  within  is  removed  by  a  reamer. 
No  shoulder  should  be  allowed  in  any  joint  at  the  edge 
of  a  ferrule  ;  that  is,  there  must  be  no  abrupt  change  of 
diameter  between  the  part  of  the  joint  within  and  that 
without  the  ferrule.  Kor  should  the  slightest  scratch 
running  around  the  joint  be  permitted  there,  or,  indeed, 
elsewhere,  for  the  joint  is  much  weakened  thereby  and 
thereat  just  as  a  few  nicks  with  a  cold  chisel  weakens  a 
bar  of  steel. 

When  these  sizes  of  ferrule  are  used  with  ash  and 
lancewood,  or  hickory,  or  ironwood,  the  rod,  exclusive  of 
tip,  should  be  divided  into  two  equal  portions,  very  near- 
ly, to  give  the  best  result.  These,  and  the  sizes  given 
under  the  head  of  Bethabara  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
will  furnish  as  precise  information  as  it  is  in  my  power 
to  give.  If  they  are  followed,  it  is  not  believed  any  error 
can  result  beyond  correction  by  local  readjustment  of  the 
taper.  But  if  ignorance  of  the  length  and  material  you 
propose  to  use,  and  the  style  of  action  you  may  prefer, 
render  it  impossible  precisely  to  define  the  diameters  you 
should  employ,  there  are  some  other  points  in  reference 
to  your  ferrules  which  I  most  earnestly  recommend  to 
your  attention. 

First,  your  ferrules  should  by  no  means  exceed  the 
lengths  already  given.  You  may  even  reduce  them  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  with  profit,  if  your  fitting  is  tolerably 
good.  The  male  ferrules  to  correspond  should  not  exceed 
— butt  ferrule,  uniting  same  to  handle,  1^^  inches;  larger 
end  of  middle  joint  l-i^  inches;  tip  has  been  already  given. 
Why  you  are  thus  advised  will  appear  in  discussing  the 
following  points. 

Second,  shun  the  ddwel-pin  and  its  socket. 

When  this  book  was  first  written  fully  ninety-five 


Rod-making. 


231 


per  cent,  of  the  fly-rods  in  use  were  furnished  with 
dowelled  ferrules.  Though  now,  in  1900,  the  great 
majority  of  fly-rods  have  simple  ferrules,  I  am  not  sat- 
isfied.    I  would  see  every  fly-rod  so  made. 


A  D 

Fig.  41.— Dowelled  Ferrule : 


C  B 

Ay  end  of  middle  joiDt;  B,  end  of  tip;  C,  dowel; 
D,  its  socket. 


Fig.  42.— Simple  Ferrule. 

You  will  at  once  perceive  the  simplicity  of  the  one, 
and  the  complexity  of  the  other  construction.  Properly 
to  make  and  adjust  the  dowels  and  their  sockets  without 
the  use  of  a  lathe,  requires  more  skill  and  care  than  to 
make  a  split-bamboo  tip.  Special  tools,  at  least  a  special 
reamer  for  each  sized  dowel,  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
form  each  corresponding  socket  —  tools  altogether  dis- 
pensed with  if  the  simple  ferrule  is  used.  Unless,  there- 
fore, the  dowelled  ferrule  offer  very  decided  advantages 
over  the  simple  ferrule — unless  it  is  practically  impossi- 
ble to  make  a  good  serviceable  rod  without  the  dowelled 
ferrule,  your  choice  has  already  been  made,  and  I  have 
your  verdict. 

But  not  only  do  I  hope  to  show  that  a  rod,  at  least  as 
good  in  every  respect,  can  be  made  with  the  simple 
ferrule;  but  that  the  dowel  is  a  useless,  a  mistaken,  and 
a  disadvantageous  construction — injurious  alike  to  the 
action  and  to  the  endurance  of  the  rod.  Therefore,  to  all 
of  the  great  brotherhood  of  anglers  who  may  favor  me 


232  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJde. 

with  their  attention,  I  now  address  myself,  asking  but  a 
patient  hearing  and  a  just  and  impartial  decision. 

1st.  It  is  an  elementary  principle  of  fishing  lore,  that  a 
one-piece  rod  without  any  joints  whatever,  is  the  most 
uniform  in  action,  and  efficient  in  use.  But  convenience 
of  transportation,  since  it  is  given  to  but  few  to  cast  the 
fly  at  their  own  threshold,  precludes  such  a  rod.  Never- 
theless it  is,  confessedly,  the  ideal  rod,  and  the  nearer  it 
can  be  approached,  the  better.  So  far  there  will  be  little 
difference  of  opinion. 

Unquestionably  the  chief  feature  to  which  the  merit  of 
such  a  rod  is  due,  is  the  absence  of  stiff  and  inelastic 
places  therein.  Its  bend  is  uniform  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  This  can  be  approached  in  a  jointed  rod  only  by 
reducing  the  inelastic  portions  to  a  minimum;  or,  in  other 
words,  by  shortening  the  ferrules  to  the  utmost  extent 
consistent  with  safety.  If  this  is  so,  it  is  conclusive  that 
the  dowelled  ferrule  is,  in  this,  inferior  to  one  without 
dowels,  since  not  only  must  the  ferrule  itself  be  longer, 
but  it  must  be  capped  at  the  junction  of  the  ferrule  and 
joint  as  well,  thus  further  prolonging  the  unbendable  por- 
tions of  the  rod. 

2d.  Though  little  complaint  can  now  be  made  of  the 
prices  asked  for  good  rods,  considering  the  really  elegant 
workmanship  displayed  and  the  great  difiiculty  and  ex- 
pense of  obtaining  fit  material — a  difficulty  and  outlay 
not  justly  appreciated  by  the  uninitiated — still  the  pur- 
chaser might  with  propriety  wish  the  benefit  of  any 
diminution  of  cost  which  neither  impaired  the  value  of 
the  rod,  nor  lessened  the  already  reasonable  profit  of  the 
maker. 

The  dowelled  ferrule  and  its  mate  practically  consist 
of  two  ferrules,  one  cap  for  female  ferrule,  metal  dowel 


Rod-making.  233 

fitted  to  end  of  joint,  wooden  dowel  within,  and  on  which 
the  metal  dowel  is  fitted,  boring  out  recess  to  receive 
dowel,  and  lining  same  with  metal. 

The  simple  ferrule  and  its  mate  are  two  pieces  of  plain 
tubing,  one  fitted  to  enter  the  other.  As  the  male  fer- 
rule in  either  case  may  or  may  not  be  capped,  such  cap 
is  not  included  in  the  above  enumeration. 

Therefore  it  is  clear  that,  as  far  as  cheapness  of  con- 
struction is  concerned,  the  dowelled  ferrule  is  at  a  disad- 
vantage. 

3d.  It  will  not  be  questioned  that  a  large  majority  of 
breakages  take  place  at  the  ferrules.  Nor  will  facility 
of  repair  be  lightly  valued  by  any  one  who  has  once 
met  with  this  accident  when  distant  from  the  repairer, 
and  after  a  considerable  journey  to  his  favorite  stream. 

To  repair  the  dowelled  ferrule  on  the  ground,  in  camp, 
or  at  such  lodgings  as  trouting  regions  usually  afford, 
presents  these  difficulties.  If  the  break  is  above  the  male 
ferrule,  it  becomes  necessary  to  shorten  the  rod  by  the 
length  of  both  dowel  and  ferrule,  to  say  nothing  of  ex- 
tracting the  broken  wood  from  the  metal  parts,  and  the 
nice  fitting  required  to  make  even  a  temporary  success 
of  the  job.  If  the  ferrule  is  secured  by  that  abomination, 
a  pin,  the  difficulty  is  increased.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  not  only  must  the  wooden  spike,  upon  which 
the  metal  dowel  is  to  be  placed,  be  made  central  and  in 
line  with  the  axis  of  the  rod,  but  it  must  fill  the  metal 
nearly  or  quite  its  whole  length,  and  also  fit  tight  therein. 
Otherwise,  in  the  first  case,  the  rod  will  not  come  together 
so  as  to  be  safe  against  that  most  disgusting  mishap  of 
throwing  apart ;  while  in  the  second  case,  when  the  rod 
is  un jointed,  the  metal  dowel  will  remain  behind  in  its 
socket. 


234  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

Again,  shortening  a  favorite  rod  between  the  butt  and 
middle  joint  by  two  inches  or  more,  will  so  change  the 
action  as  to  make  its  owner  fairly  sick  at  heart. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  rod  breaks  below  the  ferrule, 
he  is  even  more  helpless  ;  for  aside  from  ridding  the 
ferrule  and  cap  of  the  broken  portion,  how  is  the  tapered 
hole  to  be  bored  to  receive  the  dowel  ?  Yet  unless  this  is 
done  somehow,  the  dowel  will  strike  against  the  end  of 
the  joint  within  the  ferrule,  and  the  male  ferrule,  if  it 
enter  at  all,  will  not  do  so  sufficiently  to  permit  the  rod 
to  be  used. 

Again  and  again  have  I  known  this  accident  to  occur, 
and  never  knew  it  to  be  remedied  short  of  some  kind  of 
a  shop  ;  while,  except  in  a  few  rare  cases  and  with  com- 
mon rods  of  little  value,  it  has  been  a  case  of  immediate 
quarantine,  and  subsequent  hospital  treatment  by  a  pro- 
fessional rod  doctor. 

But  if  a  rod  provided  with  the  simple  ferrule  is  so 
broken,  a  few  matches  softens  the  cement  which  retains 
the  ferrule  in  position,  the  broken  piece  is  pushed  out, 
and  the  ferrule  replaced  with  the  very  minimum  loss  in 
length,  and  that  by  the  merest  tyro  in  repairs.  And  in 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  he  goes  on  his  way,  if  not  re- 
joicing, still  not  a  fit  candidate  for  a  mad-house.  Here 
surely  the  advantage  is  not  with  the  dowelled  ferrule. 

4th.  But  it  strengthens  the  rod : 

A  sane  man  would  hardly  anchor  a  sixteen-foot  cat- 
boat  with  a  frigate's  best  bower  anchor,  though  that 
would  undoubtedly  strengthen  that  boat's  hold  on  the  bot- 
tom. And  so,  if  without  the  dowel  and  its  complications 
the  requisite  strength  can  be  obtained,  it  would  scarcely 
seem  common-sense  to  retain  it  for  that  reason  alone. 

For  twenty-five  years  I  have  used  the  simple  fer- 


Rod-making,  235 

rules.  That  on  the  end  of  the  butt  joint  is  scant  two 
and  a  half  inches  long,  and  made  from  metal  of  the  thick- 
ness of  an  ordinarily  heavy  visiting-card,  and  consider- 
ably thinner  than  any  other  make  of  ferrule  that  I  have 
ever  noticed  on  a  fly-rod.  Yet  I  am  unsparing  in  my 
demands  upon  a  rod.  When  the  September  sun  is  just 
about  to  vanish  behind  the  hills  of  Western  Maine,  there 
comes  a  time  when  all  that  gambling  spirit  which  actu- 
ates enterprise  in  man,  takes  possession  of  that  angler  so 
fortunate  as  to  be  on  the  ground.  He  wants  no  third  or 
fourth  prize  in  the  lottery.  His  casts  are  for  the  first, 
or  at  least  a  good  second — five  pounds,  no  less,  will  pass; 
while  if  beneath  the  water  there  is  any  sense  whatever 
of  the  fitness  of  things,  it  is  the  plain  duty  of  an  eight 
or  ten  pounder  to  offer. 

At  such  an  appointed  time,  and  it  is  brief  at  best, 
minutes  are  precious,  and  a  two  and  a  half  or  three  pound- 
er—  anything  which  it  is  humanly  possible  to  derrick 
with  the  tackle  in  use — is  reeled  in  and  got  rid  of  without 
the  slightest  ceremony,  and  with  the  reverse  of  thanks 
for  its  attentions.  I  have  done  my  share  of  this  with 
simple  ferrules,  and  never  yet  has  one  bent  or  given 
way.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mjnd  that  before  a  tube  will 
bend  it  must  collapse,  and  if  the  rod  is  so  put  together 
that  the  ends  of  the  joints  within  the  metal  are  close  to- 
gether (say  one-eighth  to  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch,  which 
is  quite  ample  to  allow  for  wear),  it  is  plain  that  to  bend 
the  ferrule  will  require  a  power  almost  equal  to  the  ten- 
sile strength  of  the  metal  itself,  a  strain  to  which,  in  use, 
no  fly-rod  is  ever  even  approximately  subject.  It  would, 
therefore,  appear  that  in  this  particular  the  simple  fer- 
rule, properly  constructed  and  applied,  is  practically  quite 
the  equal  of  its  dowelled  rival. 


236  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

5th.  It  strengthens  the  rod  !  And  this  is  the  only  as- 
sertion in  its  favor  1  have  ever  been  able  to  elicit. 

But  is  this  assertion  true?  I  believe  that  it  is  not 
only  false,  but  that  the  direct  contrary  is  the  truth.  A 
ferrule  may  be  able  to  endure  any  possible  strain  with 
impunity,  while  the  rod  to  which  it  is  applied  may  be  as 
brittle  as  a  pipe-stem.  Of  course  the  weakest  point  in 
the  rod  measures  the  strength  of  the  rod. 

This  is  just  the  case  in  point.  A  dowelled  ferrule  in 
itself  is  undoubtedly  stronger  than  a  simple  ferrule,  but 
the  rod  to  which  it  is  applied  is  weakened  thereby,  and 
is  not  as  strong  as  it  would  be  were  a  simple  ferrule  of 
proper  construction  substituted  in  its  place.  The  strain 
brought  on  the  unyielding  metal  is  localized  and  concen- 
trated at  its  extremities.  The  ferrule  and  its  mate  act 
as  one  single  lever,  in  which  the  power  is  applied  at  one 
end,  while  the  fulcrum  is  at  the  other.  It  is  elementary 
and  axiomic  that  the  longer  the  lever  the  greater  will  be 
its  power.  If  the  effort  which  the  lever  transmits  exceeds 
the  endurance  of  its  fulcrum  (in  this  case  the  timber  at 
the  lower  edge  of  the  ferrule),  the  latter  will  surely  be 
crushed,  ^.  6.,  the  rod  will  break  at  the  ferrule. 

This  simple  principle  of  natural  philosophy  seems  to 
demonstrate  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  introduc- 
tion of  any  ferrule  weakens  a  rod,  and  that  a  longer  fer- 
rule weakens  a  rod  more  than  a  shorter;  since  with  equal 
pull  at  the  tip,  more  strain  is  concentrated  at  the  end  of 
a  long  ferrule  (or  lever)  than  at  the  end  of  a  short  fer- 
rule (or  lever). 

It  is  a  corollary  to  this  that  in  all  jointed  rods  the 
points  where  the  ferrules  terminate,  are  subject  to  a  de- 
gree of  strain  considerably  in  excess  of  the  proportion 
due  to  their  location — or  in  other  words,  in  excess  of  the 


Hod-making.  237 

strain  imposed  at  the  same  point,  under  like  conditions, 
upon  a  like  single-piece  un jointed  rod. 

Therefore,  fracture  at  those  points  should  be  more  com- 
mon than  at  others ;  and  that  such  is  the  fact  every  one 
knows.  Our  theory  tells  us  such  should  be  the  result — our 
experience  shows  such  is  the  result.  Theref  or6,  it  would 
seem  the  theory  has  stood  the  regulation  verification  by 
experiment,  and  that  it  may  be  safely  accepted  as  sound. 

A  dowelled  ferrule  must  of  necessity  be  long ;  a  sim- 
ple ferrule  may  and  should  be  short.  Wherefore  it  again 
appears  the  verdict  must  be  against  the  dowel. 

But  it  may  be  justly  urged,  the  simple  ferrule  is  not 
new  ;  Thaddeus  Norris  used  it  years  ago,  and  advocated 
it  in  his  most  excellent  book  "  The  American  Angler." 
You  have  had  your  say  against  the  dowelled  ferrule. 
What  do  its  adherents  charge  against  the  simple  ferrule  ? 

They  charge  that  the  simple  ferrule  will  work  loose  and 
throw  apart,  or  bend,  or  burst  open  when  subjected  to  a 
sudden  strain.  It  must  be  admitted  that  in  the  first  charge 
they  have  the  inferential  support  of  no  less  an  authority 
than  Mr.  Norris  himself  ;  for  though  silent  in  words,  he 
nevertheless  recommends  and  figures  in  his  book  ferrules 
provided  with  small  hooks,  so  that  they  can  be  lashed 
together,  obviously  to  guard  against  this  accident. 

These  are  the  standing  and  only  objections  of  those  who 
favor  the  dowelled  ferrule ;  and,if  answerable,  they  should 
be  met.  They  have  each,however,one  inherent  weakpoint. 
They  are  each  and  every  one  of  them  devoid  of  truth. 

What  man  who  forms  his  judgment  on  the  merits,  and 
not  from  prejudice — and  it  is  to  such  only  that  it  is  worth 
while  to  appeal — will  for  a  moment  think  of  taking  a 
poorly  fitted  simple  ferrule  of  inferior  material  (when 


238  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle, 

perfect-fitting  and  good  material  is  easily  to  be  had),  as  a 
standard  from  which  to  form  a  true  opinion  of  its  merits? 
Would  the  reader  think  it  fair-play  should  a  visitor  to 
his  country  judge  its  inhabitants  from  the  most  debased 
of  the  population,  and  declare  that  all  were  of  that  stripe, 
and  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  the  scum 
of  the  earth  ?  I  think  not.  And,  as  he  would  justly  pro- 
test against  such  an  expression  as  an  outrage,  so  do  I 
protest  against  these  charges,  and  for  the  same  reason. 

Besides  quite  a  number  that  I  still  retain,  there  are 
many  rods  of  my  own  make  in  use,  presents  to  friends. 
The  ferrules  of  all  these  are  short  and  without  dowels, 
and  all  made  from  german-silver  tubing  drawn  inside 
and  out.  None  of  them  are  furnished  with  any  device 
whatever,  except  the  mere  cohesion  of  the  inner  within 
the  outer  ferrule,  to  hold  them  together  when  in  use. 
Never  in  twenty  years  and  more  of  my  own  experience, 
nor,  I  believe,  in  that  of  those  using  my  rods,  has  a  fer- 
rule either  split  or  bent,  or  a  joint  thrown  apart.  And 
yet  I  am  but  an  amateur  maker,  a  professional  man  with- 
out mechanical  training,  resorting  to  rod-making  merely 
as  an  amusement.  It  stands  to  reason  that  a  trained  me- 
chanic could  do  better  work.  Besides,  the  ferrules  used 
by  me  for  the  last  five  years  were  drawn  too  large  in  the 
first  instance ;  and  in  subsequently  reducing  the  diame- 
ter, the  thickness  was  also  reduced,  resulting  in  a  much 
thinner  ferrule  that  I  proposed — certainly  not  heavier  than 
an  ordinary  visiting-card.  Therefore  we  have  not  here 
the  best  possible  of  either  work  or  material,  as  a  criterion 
of  the  merits  of  the  simple  lerrule. 

These  rods  have  not  been  used  solely  against  the  small 
fish  of  the  ordinary  mountain  brook,  but  much  more 
largely  in  those  waters  of  Maine  where,  I  believe,  it  is 


Bod-making,  239 

admitted  that  the  American  species  of  brook-trout  at- 
tain a  size  not  elsewhere  found,  or  at  any  rate,  only  in 
the  Nepigon  River  of  Lake  Superior. 

In  September,  1883,  a  friend  fastened  a  trout  of  four 
and  a  half  pounds  (weighed  to  the  ounce,  and  not  guessed 
at)  in  a  dangerous  place,  and  not  only  held  him  without 
giving  an  inch  of  line,  but  hung  to  him  until  his  guide 
took  the  boat  into  clear  water  and  towed  the  fish  after. 

The  rod  used  on  that  occasion  was  a  greenheart,  with 
split-bamboo  tip,  nine  feet  eight  inches  long,  and  united 
by  simple  ferrules  made  by  me  during  that  year,  and  in 
the  manner  described.  The  rod  and  its  ferrules,  as  far 
as  the  eye  and  constant  subsequent  use  could  determine, 
were  as  good  as  new. 

It  will  be  admitted,  I  think,  that  this  was  a  pretty  fair 
test.  But  it  by  no  means  stands  alone  in  my  remem- 
brance. I  could  instance  dozens  of  other  occasions  where 
these  ferrules  have  withstood  the  severest  and  most  sud- 
den strains,  and  always  without  damage. 

Should  I  assert  that  if  a  man  fell  from  a  window  he 
would  not  reach  the  ground,  but  fly  off  into  space,  and 
forever  after  gyrate  in  an  orbit  around  the  moon,  you 
would  unhesitatingly  assert  that  it  was  not  true.  You 
have  seen  bodies  fall  before,  and  are  familiar  with  the 
course  they  will  take.  For  the  same  reasons,  I  assert  em- 
phatically that  it  is  not  true  that  the  simple  ferrule,  if 
properly  made  (and  this  is  a  much  easier  matter  than  to 
make  a  good  dowelled  ferrule),  will  either  throw  apart 
or  bend  or  split  when  subjected  to  any  possible  practical 
strain.  A  ferrule  of  leaden  material,  and  the  fitting  of 
which  is  a  botch,  will  give  a  like  result,  whether  dow- 
elled or  simple  in  construction. 


240  Fly^ods  and  Fly-tackle, 

Still,  the  charge  that  the  simple  ferrule  will  throw 
apart  has  some  foundation  in  fact,  and  it  is  this  :  Some 
make  and  advocate  the  use  of  a  form  of  simple  ferrule, 
which,  for  the  sake  of  a  name,  I  will  call  the  "  hour-glass  " 
ferrule.  By  this  I  mean  a  ferrule  in  which  the  diame- 
ter of  the  bore  diminishes  from  both  ends  towards  and 
to  the  middle.  Alive  to  the  fact  that  a  fit  is  desirable, 
they  hope  to  insure  this  by  thus  tapering  the  bore  of  the 
female  ferrule,  and  giving  a  corresponding  conical  form 
to  its  mate. 

'  I  have  made  perhaps  a  dozen  salmon  rods,  some  of  Da- 
game  wood  and  some  of  split  bamboo,  from  15  feet  3 
inches  to  15  feet  6  inches  in  length.  All  were  jointed  with 
simple  ferrules  of  my  own  make.  All  have  been  subjected 
to  severe  and  protracted  usage,  and  not  one  has  failed. 

But  let  us  analyze  this  construction  for  a  moment. 
We  have  here  a  conical  plug  entering  a  conical  hole.  It 
is  obvious  that  the  plug  may  and  will  enter  some  dis- 
tance before  any  contact  occurs.  It  is  also  clear  that 
when  contact  does  take  place,  but  a  very  slight  farther 
insertion  is  possible  before  the  entering  ferrule  wedges 
fast.  We  have  then,  on  one  side  of  the  fit  and  close  to 
it,  a  place  where  the  contact  and  consequent  cohesion  of 
the  surfaces  is  nothing;  and  on  the  other  side,  and  in 
equally  close  juxtaposition,  the  "jam,"  where  the  enter- 
ing ferrule  comes  to  a  stand.  Start  such  a  ferrule  ever 
so  little,  and  the  frictional  contact  or  cohesion  of  the  sur- 
face is  so  impaired,  if  it  is  not  altogether  destroyed,  that 
it  is  no  longer  sufficient  to  meet  and  overcome  the  tenden- 
cy of  the  rod  to  throw  apart  in  casting.  That  a  sudden  jar 
or  shock  may  produce  this  result,  is  shown  by  a  familiar 
example  from  every-day  life.  Many  have  struggled  with 
an  obstinate  glass  stopper  stuck  fast  in  its  bottle.     Here 


Bod-making,  241 

we  have  the  conditions  exactly  reproduced  —  a  conical 
plug  fitting  in  a  conical  bore.  Taking  the  bottle  in  the 
left  hand,  and  constantly  turning  it,  tap  the  glass  stopper 
alternately  on  each  side  with  any  light  piece  of  metal,  and 
in  a  few  moments  a  cohesion  which  resisted  all  the  tor- 
sional strain  you  could  apply,  is  so  broken  that  the  stopper 
may  be  removed  with  the  thumb  and  finger. 

Contrast  with  this  the  action  of  a  perfect  cylinder. 
Insert  it  one-eighth  of  an  inch,  and  it  fits;  insert  it  an- 
other eighth,  and  it  still  fits,  and  a  due  proportion  of  co- 
hesion is  added  to  that  already  obtained;  enter  it  fur- 
ther, and  still  the  same  result — each  fractional  advance 
increasing  the  cohesion  of  the  surfaces,  until  the  limit  of 
insertion  is  reached. 

Now,  whether  a  rod  will  throw  apart  or  not  depends 
upon  the  relative  proportions  of  the  cohesion  of  the  sur- 
faces of  the  ferrules  one  with  the  other,  and  the  centrif- 
ugal motion  imparted  to  the  rod  in  the  process  of  cast- 
ing. So  long  as  the  former  is  in  excess  the  rod  can  nev- 
er throw  apart.  Start  the  "  hour-glass  "  ferrule  at  all, 
and  the  centrifugal  motion  preponderates.  But  the  cylin- 
drical ferrule  may  be  withdrawn  half  an  inch,  and  still 
leave  abundant  cohesion  to  retain  the  balance  in  its  fa- 
vor. Ignorance  or  neglect  of  these  simple  and  element- 
ary principles  have  led  to  the  construction  of  the  "  hour- 
glass "  ferrule,  and  to  the  claim  that  a  simple  ferrule  so 
made  is  liable  to  throw  apart,  I  assent.  But  a  simple 
cylindrical  ferrule  is  quite  another  matter,  and  when  the 
defects  of  the  former  are  charged  against  it,  guided  both 
by  practical  experience  and  theory,  I  insist  that  those 
charges  have  no  foundation  in  fact.  Nor  must  it  be  sup- 
posed that  mathematical  exactness  of  form  or  tit  is  essen- 
tial to  its  practical  success.  I  have  known  of  a  simple 
16 


242  Fly-Tods  cmd  Fly-tacMe. 

ferrule,  uniting  the  butt  and  middle  joint  of  a  rod,  stand 
perfectly  for  years,  in  which  the  female  ferrule  had  been 
changed  from  the  tapered  to  a  cylindrical  form  solely  by 
hammering  on  a  mandrel,  and  without  grinding  or  finish- 
ing the  inner  surface  in  any  way. 

Therefore  it  is  believed  that  the  facts  fully  justify  the 
assertion  that  the  short  form  of  ferrule  I  advocate  is  as 
much  the  superior  of  the  long  dowelled  ferrule  in  excel- 
lence, as  it  is  in  simplicity,  and  that  no  other  should  be 
used  to  unite  the  different  portions  of  a  fly-rod.* 

Returning  now  to  our  subject,  and  addressing  the  be- 
ginner only,  as  before,  we  anticipate  and  answer  his  ques- 

*  Since  writing  the  foregoing,  my  attention  has  been  called  to  a  form 
of  dowelled  ferrule,  in  which  the  dowel  is  very  short,  and  the  ferrule  but 
little  longer,  if  any,  than  those  I  advocate.  If  the  dowelled  ferrule  has 
any  merit,  this  possesses  it  fully,  while  beyond  increased  difficulty  of  re- 
pair to  a  break  at  the  ferrule's  edge,  I  know  of  no  objection  to  its  use. 
These  ferrules  were  otherwise  so  well  made,  and  on  such  sound  mechani- 
cal principles,  that  it  is  with  pleasure  I  except  them  from  the  preceding 
criticism.  The  dowelled  ferrule  has,  however,  one  advantage  over  the 
other  form  deserving  of  mention.  At  the  opening  of  the  season  the  fer- 
rules of  a  rod  are  sometimes  found  to  be  a  little  loose,  due  to  the  shrink- 
ing of  the  rod  material  during  the  winter.  In  such  case  the  dowel  so 
wedges  any  joint  to  that  below  it,  as  to  prevent  the  shake  at  the  points  of 
juncture  (which  would  temporarily  disable  a  rod  provided  with  simple  fer- 
rules),  and  the  angler  may  disregard  the  defect. 

I  have  spoken,  and  hereafter  speak,  of  ferrules  made  from  tubing.  In 
all  cases  tubing  "drawn  inside  and  out"  is  to  be  understood,  the  process 
of  manufacture  of  which  is  as  follows :  A  polished  steel  mandrel  is  in- 
serted within  the  tube,  which  is  then  forcibly  drawn  through  a  die  with 
the  mandrel  still  within  it.  The  metal  is  thus  compressed  between  the 
mandrel  and  the  die,  resulting  in  a  considerable  extension  in  length  as 
well  as  reduction  in  diameter.  This  condensation  by  compression  is  es- 
sential to  the  required  "  temper  "  of  the  metal.  I  neither  advocate  nor 
approve  of  the  use  of  any  tubing  in  the  drawing  of  which  the  use  of  such 
a  mandrel  is  omitted. 


Bod-making.  S43 

tion,  Where  shall  I  get  my  ferrules  and  rod  material? 
My  own  ferrules  have  been  made  from  german  -  silver 
tubing,  drawn  for  me  by  Mr.  John  H.  Knapp,  manufact- 
urer of  gold  and  silver  pen  and  pencil  cases,  No.  17  John 
Street,  New  York  City.  The  tubing  for  the  male  ferrules, 
as  supplied  me  in  the  past  by  Mr.  Knapp,  has  been  just 
a  shade  too  large  to  enter  the  female  ferrule,  so  as  to 
permit  nice  fitting.  This  tubing  was  beautifully  drawn 
inside  and  out,  and  of  good  "  temper."  Mr.  Knapp  prefers 
that  samples  should  be  sent  with  orders.  He  can  supply 
any  size  which  does  not  exceed  half  an  inch  in  interior 
diameter. 

To  make  ferrules,  or  even  to  fit  them  well,  without  the 
use  of  a  lathe  is  a  difficult  matter.  To  buy  your  ferrules 
already  fitted  is  the  better  course,  if  you  have  not  access 
to  this  most  useful  of  machines. 

Let  me,  however,  strongly  advise,  if  you  intend  to 
make  more  than  one  rod,  as  soon  as  possible  to  adopt 
fixed  sizes  of  ferrules  for  fly-rods  and  to  adhere  to  it,  for 
thus  you  will  have  all  parts  of  all  your  rods  interchange- 
able. The  advantage  of  this  is  too  apparent  for  discus- 
sion. But,  lest  the  youthful  beginner  (and  to  such,  re- 
membering my  own  embarrassments,  my  heart  goes  out), 
to  whom  money  may  be  an  object,  may  have  ordered  a 
second  set  and  find  it  a  little  different  from  his  first,  I 
will  give  directions  for  fitting  without  a  lathe,  which 
with  patience  will  remedy  the  defect. 

Let  us  assume  the  male  ferrule  is  too  large.  First 
cement  it  on  a  stick  to  serve  as  a  handle.  Then,  if  the 
difference  is  great,  attack  it  with  your  "  mill-saw  "  file, 
afterwards  with  a  "dead  smooth  "  file,  or  strips  of  emery 
cloth  glued  to  flat  pieces  of  wood.  In  any  event  finish 
till  it  will  enter  a  little  with  the  latter.     In  this  filing 


244  Fly^ods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

operation  you  must  by  no  means  put  the  ferrule  in  a  vise. 
Hold  its  handle  in  the  left  hand,  laying  the  ferrule  in  a 
shallow  groove  not  over  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  so  that 
if  you  do  not  apply  the  file  straight,  the  ferrule  will  rock 
a  little  to  meet  it.  To  file  flat  and  true  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  of  mechanical  operations,  and  few  even  of  trained 
artisans  ever  acquire  it.  Should  the  male  ferrule  be  too 
small,  insert  a  round  piece  of  iron  which  fits  it  nearly, 
and  stretch  it  with  a  hammer  until  too  large.  Then 
finish  as  before. 

If,  however,  the  female  ferrule  is  too  small,  mount  it 
on  a  handle  inserted  only  at  that  end,  and  not  quite  as 
far  as  the  joint  is  intended  to  enter.  Carefully  round  a 
stick  of  such  size  that  when  wrapped  with  emery-cloth, 
to  be  glued  on,  it  will  just  fit.  Oil  the  latter,  and  grind 
out  the  inside  of  the  ferrule,  giving  some  longitudinal  as 
well  as  rotary  motion  to  the  stick.  Unless  the  quantity 
to  be  removed  is  considerable,  the  ferrule  should  not  be 
stretched  on  a  metal  rod  under  the  hammer.  When  you 
have  finished,  wipe  the  oil  and  abraded  material  from 
your  files  and  emery-sticks,  and  put  them  away  for  future 
use.  When  the  female  ferrule  is  too  large,  there  is  no 
remedy  for  the  amateur  but  to  buy  another. 

German-silver  takes  a  better  temper* — can  be  made 


*  When  the  amateur,  at  least,  speaks  of  "  German-silver,"  he  is  apt  to 
suppose  that  he  refers  to  a  fixed  alloy  of  definite  characteristics.  This 
is  not  the  case.  The  term  "German-silver"  is  applied  indiscriminately 
to  all  alloys  of  copper,  nickle,  and  zinc,  with  or  without  lead  or  iron, 
irrespective  of  the  proportions  in  which  they  are  combined,  or  the  char- 
acteristics  of  the  compound — color  excepted. 

They  are  by  no  means  equally  suited  to  the  angler's  use,  especially 
for  ferrules.  The  desiderata  are  malleability,  that  the  alloy  may  be 
easily  worked,  and  stiffness,  that  it  may  retain  the  form  given  it  by  the 


Rod-making.  245 

stiff er  by  compression — than  brass,  and  it  therefore  makes 
a  better  ferrule;  but  brass  is  much  cheaper.  It,  however, 
tarnishes  and  becomes  dirty  and  repulsive  in  appearance 
so  quickly,  that  some  preventive  method  of  finishing  its 
surface  is  desirable. 

The  following  receipt  I  give  in  "  rule-of-thumb  "  fash- 
ion, as  it  was  given  to  me.  I  habitually  use  it  on  my  reels, 
have  used  it  on  all  kinds  of  brass  work  for  years,  and 
confidently  recommend  it  as  excellent.  No  very  extra 
finish  of  the  surface  is  required. 

Obtain  from  any  druggist  a  wide-mouthed  glass-stop- 
pered bottle,  such  as  chloral  hydrate  comes  in.  Have  him 
put  a  pound  of  commercial  nitric  acid  in  this;  then  take 
it  home,  drop  into  it  a  ten-cent  piece,  put  it  in  a  warm 
place  with  the  stopper  loose,  and  wait  till  the  silver  is 
dissolved.  This  will  take  some  days.  Or,  if  you  are 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  druggist,  he  can  dissolve  the 
silver  in  a  very  few  minutes  by  boiling  it  in  a  portion 
of  the  acid ;  but  unless  you  are  accustomed  to  chemical 
manipulation  do  not  attempt  this  yourself.  After  the  sil- 
ver is  di88olved,add  a  piece  of  copper  wire  about  the  thick- 
ness of  an  ordinary  knitting-needle  and  about  four  inches 

artificer  under  treatment  something  more  severe  than  the  exigencies  of 
ordinary  use.  Either  of  these  antagonistic  qualities  may  readily  be  had 
at  the  expense  of  the  other ;  the  first  by  increasing  the  proportion  of 
copper,  or  adding  lead ;  the  second  by  augmenting  the  quantity  of  nickle, 
or  adding  a  small  percentage  of  iron.  In  the  one  case  we  have  an  alloy 
which,  though  it  works  easily,  cannot  be  given  the  required  stiffness  ;  in 
the  other  a  compound  excellent  as  far  as  rigidity  is  concerned,  but  un- 
manageable by  the  workman.  Sixty  parts  of  copper  and  twenty  parts 
each  of  nickle  and  of  zinc  give  an  excellent  color,  and  is  probably  the 
golden — or  perhaps  we  should  say  in  this  case,  the  silver — mean.  Less 
than  eighteen  per  cent,  of  nickle  no  german-silver  should  contain  that  is 
to  be  used  for  ferrules.     Iron  and  lead  should  be  excluded. 


246  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

long.  This  will  soon  disappear,  and  the  solution  is  then 
ready  for  use.  Clean  all  oil  from  the  brass  you  wish  to 
color,  either  with  alcohol,  ammonia,  or  brown  soap;  rinse 
well,  and  dry.  Then  secure  it  to  a  piece  of  copper  wire, 
and  the  wire  to  a  poker;  dip  the  brass  below  the  surface 
of  the  solution;  withdraw  it  at  once;  give  a  slight  shake 
within  the  bottle  to  avoid  dripping,  and  heat  in  a  fire  as 
quickly  as  possible.  If  you  have  a  good  alcohol  lamp, 
or  one  of  those  gas-burners  which  give  a  flame  of  the  al- 
cohol character,  either  will  be  better  than  a  fire.  Watch 
the  piece  carefully.  It  will  first  turn  green,  then  a  black 
speck  or  two  will  appear  on  the  surface.  This  will  speed- 
ily spread,  until  the  whole  surface  is  a  dull  dead  black. 
The  instant  this  change  is  complete,  remove  the  brass 
from  the  source  of  heat.  The  change  takes  place  at  the 
temperature  at  which  ordinary  tinman's  solder  melts, 
and  hotter  than  this  no  ferrule  should  ever  be  heated 
after  it  is  soldered  together,  lest  it  anneal  and  lose  its 
stiffness. 

Two  courses  are  then  open.  One  is  to  cool  at  once 
with  water,  and  then  to  scrub  well  with  an  old  tooth- 
brush, holding  the  brass  below  the  surface  till  clean;  the 
other,  less  agreeable  but  giving  a  better  result,  is  to  al- 
low the  brass  to  cool  naturally,  and  then  to  scrub  the 
surface  clean  in  the  same  manner,  but  dry.  After  being 
thus  scrubbed,  rub  well  with  a  dry  cloth  until  all  crock  is 
removed.  You  will  then  have  deposited  a  beautiful  soft 
dead  surface  of  black  oxide  of  copper  on  your  brass.  It 
has  a  very  attractive  appearance,  wears  very  well,  and 
when  the  sharper  edges  after  two  or  three  seasons  rub 
bright,  you  can,  if  you  wish,  re-black  in  the  same  way  an 
indefinite  number  of  times.  The  whole  original  expense 
will  not  exceed  fifty  cents,  and  the  same  solution  may 


Rodrmahing.  247 

be  used  again  and  again,  till  consumed  by  evaporation, 
and  the  little  withdrawn  upon  the  surface  of  the  articles 
dipped  therein.    Any  copper-alloy  may  be  thus  blackened. 

THE  HANDLE. 

Use  a  handle  with  a  ferrule  immediately  above  it — or, 
better  still,  sunk  into  it — to  receive  the  butt  joint,  the 
whole  so  arranged  that  while  the  handle  remains  still,  the 
butt  joint  can  be  turned  readily,  so  as  to  present  the  rings 
either  beneath  or  on  top  of  the  rod.  One  handle  will 
thus  do  for  all  single-handed  fly- rods,  heavy  or  light. 
You  can  cast  with  the  rings  underneath  or  above,  while 
the  reel  always  remains  in  its  normal  and  only  conven- 
ient position — that  below  the  hand  and  under  the  handle 
— and  you  can  change  from  one  to  the  other  as  your  fan- 
cy dictates.  You  can  play  your  fish  in  the  same  way, 
changing  the  direction  of  the  strain  in  an  instant,  and  a 
dozen  times  on  the  same  fish  if  you  wish.  Also  in  order- 
ing or  making  a  new  rod,  you  will  not  only  save  the  ex- 
pense of  a  new  handle  and  its  furniture,  but  avoid  the 
temptation  to  use  strong  language  when  you  find  your 
old  reels  will  not  fit.  Again,  your  rod,  even  if  of  in- 
ferior material,  will  always  remain  straight  and  uniform 
in  action. 

Next  to  discarding  the  dowel  pin,  I  believe  this  to  be 
the  most  valuable  improvement  which  can  be  applied  to 
the  fly-rod  as  at  present  made.  I  am  aware  this  con- 
struction is  not  altogether  new;  but  it  is  uncommon,  while 
its  great  merit  should  make  it  universal.  And  even  when 
employed,  it  is  not  unf requently  regarded  either  as  a  mere 
ornament  or  as  a  device  to  make  possible  a  cheaper  or 
lighter  handle,  while  its  most  important  function,  the 
ability  frequently  to  reverse  the  direction  in  which  the 


248  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

strain  is  brought  upon  the  rod,  is  altogether  ignored.  Let 
any  gentleman  have  one  of  his  rods,  especially  if  it  has 
already  taken  a  set,  cut  immediately  above  the  handle, 
and  a  short,  well-fitted  simple  ferrule  inserted  to  reunite 
the  divided  portions,  and  then  try  it  for  one  campaign. 

Of  course,  to  bring  the  rings  above,  but  half  a  revolu- 
tion of  the  butt  joint  in  the  handle-ferrule  will  be  re- 
quired, and  the  line  will  then  wrap  in  a  long  spiral  half 
way  round  the  butt  joint.  Now  if,  in  reversing  the  rings 
to  underneath  the  rod,  the  precaution  be  taken  always 
to  reverse  the  motion  as  well,  so  that  the  line  will  then 
lead  straight  to  the  rings  and  not  wrap  all  the  way  around 
the  rod,  it  (the  line)  will  be  found  to  render  equally  well 
in  either  position  of  the  rings.  And  unless  the  teachings 
of  over  twenty  years'  practical  experience  are  delusive, 
the  more  particular  he  who  tries  it  is  in  regard  to  his 
tackle,  the  more  certain  he  is  to  adhere  to  it  ever  after. 

Fifteen  years  have  elapsed  since  the  foregoing  was 
written,  during  which  I  have  wooed  the  wily  trout  or 
salmon  from  Labrador  to  Alaska.  During  this  time, 
except  at  infrequent  intervals,  and  for  a  few  trial  casts 
by  request,  no  fly-rod,  either  for  trout  or  salmon,  with- 
out an  independent  handle  has  been  used  by  me.  If  I 
praised  its  merits  before  with  the  spirit  of  an  advocate, 
I  now  extol  them  with  the  zeal  of  a  missionary.  Given 
two  rods  of  equal  excellence,  one  with  and  the  other 
without  an  independent  handle,  both  properly  used,  and 
the  first  will  still  be  young  and  sprightly  long  after  the 
other  is  decrepit  and  passe. 

During  these  peregrinations,  often  far  into  the  wilder- 
ness, many  other  anglers  have  been  met,  usually  encum- 
bered with  a  bundle  of  rods  as  large  as  a  small  water- 
main.     My  whole  rod  outfit — two  butts,  three  middle 


Bod-making.  249 

joints,  and  five  tips — was  contained  in  a  water-tight 
screw-capped  tin  pipe  one  and  three-eighths  inches  in 
diameter  ;  my  one  independent  handle  being  in  my 
pack  with  my  fly-book  and  reel.  Each  of  my  joints  lay 
solidly  against  its  fellows,  supported-  and  straight 
throughout  its  length.  Theirs,  if  straight,  could  touch 
the  butt  joint  only  at  the  ferrule  and  handle,  so  that, 
bound  into  a  bundle  as  convenience  of  carriage  required, 
they  were  constantly  crooked  except  when  jointed  and 
in  use.  I  cannot  recollect  ever  to  have  seen  a  much- 
used  rod  with  integral  handle  and  butt  joint,  which  had 
an  equal  action  on  the  back  and  forward  cast.  Such 
rods  I  have  always  found  softer  when  so  bent  that 
the  ringed  side  was  concave,  than  when  bent  in  the 
opposite  direction.  This,  to  my  sense  of  propriety,  is  an 
abomination.  As  far  as  pleasure  is  concerned,  I  would 
as  soon  cast  with  a  rod  the  ferrules  of  which  were  loose, 
as  with  a  rod  of  such  unequal  action.  Though  a  rod 
may  have  this  desirable  quality  in  perfection  when 
new,  I  am  convinced  that  it  can  be  retained  but  for  a 
small  part  of  what  should  be  its  unimpaired  life,  in  the 
absence  of  an  independent  handle  so  united  to  the  butt 
joint  that  the  rod  can  be  turned  therein  while  fishing, 
so  as  to  bring  the  rings  at  frequent  intervals  alternately 
on  top  and  underneath  the  rod. 

I  am  quite  aware  of  the  theory  that  if  one  casts  with 
the  rings  underneath,  and  plays  his  fish  with  the  rings 
uppermost,  the  one  strain  will  offset  the  other  and  the 
rod  remain  straight  and  equal  in  action.  But  if  the 
proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eating,  unless  my  obser- 
vation is  at  fault,  it  is  a  matter  of  theory  only  and  not 
of  fact.  Few  rods,  it  is  believed,  have  been  subjected 
to  strains  more  severe  than  my  own,  used,  as  it  con- 


250  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

stantly  has  been,  with  large  flies  and  against  heavy  fish ; 
yet  it  is  as  straight  to-day  and  as  even  in  action  as  when 
strung  up  for  its  maiden  cast.  This  desirable  result  I 
attribute  solely  to  the  practice,  when  the  rod  is  in  use, 
of  turning  it  in  the  handle  at  frequent  intervals  so  that 
the  rings  are  alternately  on  top  and  underneath — say 
three  or  four  times  an  hour.  In  short,  I  am  as  firmly 
convinced  that  the  independent  handle,  when  used  as 
indicated  above,  protracts  the  prime  of  the  useful  life 
of  a  rod  many  times  over,  as  I  am  that  fly-fishing  is  the 
first  of  out-door  sports. 

Remember  always  to  oil  or  tallow  your  ferrules,  espe- 
cially the  handle-ferrule,  and  then  wipe  them  dry  before 
jointing  your  rod.  You  will  then  never  be  plagued  by 
having  the  joints  stick  and  refuse  to  separate,  and  your 
handle-ferrule  will  turn  with  smoothness  and  ease,  as  it 
should. 

All  the  strain  imposed  on  the  rod  is  transferred  to, 
and  must  be  overcome  at,  the  junction  of  the  handle  and 
butt  joint.  It  is  well,  therefore,  to  give  special  attention 
to  this  point.  If  the  ferrule  to  receive  the  butt  is  to  be 
sunk  into  the  handle — which  is  the  method  I  prefer — so 
that  only  its  mouth  appears,  it  should  run  the  whole 
length  of  the  grasp.  Otherwise,  if  you  overstrike,  and 
on  a  solid  fish,  there  is  danger  of  splitting  the  handle. 
With  this  construction  ten  and  a  half  inches  is  long 
enough  for  this  part.  In  this  case,  having  bored  the  hole 
to  receive  it,  warm  the  ferrule,  coat  it  with  cement,  and 
push  it  into  place  with  a  twisting  motion.  If  the  cement 
cools  by  contact  with  the  interior  of  the  handle,  and  in- 
clines to  stick,  warm  a  round  metal  rod  and  insert  it  in- 
side of  the  ferrule.  This  will  re-melt  the  cement,  and  you 
can  easily  enter  the  ferrule  the  remaining  distance. 


Bod-making. 


261 


If  the  ferrule  is  to  project  outside  of  the  handle,  it 
should  not  exceed  two  and  a  half  inches  in  length.  The 


F]g43. 


pin  on  which  it  sets,  and  which  unites  it  to  the  handle, 
should  be  the  strongest  part  of  the  rod.  Unless  the  ma- 
terial of  which  the  handle  is  composed  is  in  itself  very- 
strong,  a  piece  of  ash,  or  some  wood  having  the  required 
strength,  should  be  inserted  to  fill  a  hole  the  whole  length 
of  the  grasp,  and  glued  in  place,  leaving  enough  project- 
ing to  place  the  ferrule  on.  If  this  method  is  followed, 
any  light  wood  that  suits  the  fancy  will  answer  for  a 
handle — red  cedar  for  instance,  or  sumach,  either  of  which 
finishes  to  look  well.  Or  bird's-eye  maple  may  be  used, 
and  the  projection  be  formed  with  the  handle,  and  of  the 
same  material,  thus  dispensing  with  the  labor  of  boring, 
etc.  Curly  maple  makes  a  handsomer  job,  but  it  is  not 
so  strong.  In  this  case  the  handle  should  be  eleven 
inches  long,  measured  from  the  edge  of  the  ferrule  where 
it  comes  in  contact  with  the  handle,  to  the  extreme  end 
of  the  butt  cap.  Make  that  portion  of  the  handle  devoted 
to  the  reel,  and  which  will  of  course  be  below  the  hand, 
as  short  as  you  can.  It  should  be  equal  to  the  sum  of 
lengths  of  the  butt  cap,  that  portion  of  your  reel  by  which 
it  is  attached  to  the  handle  (the  reel  plate),  and  your  two 
reel  bands.     Or  you  may  procure  from  the  same  source 


253  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

from  which  you  would  order  your  other  material,  a  hol- 
low metal  reel  seat,  which  includes  in  itself  butt  cap  and 
all  bands,  at  about  double  cost.  Then  to  fit  the  lower 
end  of  your  handle  to  it,  and  cement  it  on,  is  all  that  is 
necessary. 

It  is  usually  recommended  to  place  the  reel  as  near 
the  butt  end  of  the  handle  as  possible,  since  then  the 
weight  acts  more  efficiently  to  counterpoise,  and  thus 
diminish  the  apparent  weight  of  the  rod.  Therefore, 
one  end  of  the  reel  plate  is  inserted  directly  under  the 
edge  of  the  butt  cap  itself,  and  one  reel  band,  sliding 
from  above,  confines  the  other  extremity.  This  arrange- 
ment dispenses  with  one  reel  band.  It  does  very  well 
for  small  fish  ;  but  where  those  are  expected  which  will 
give  from  five  to  thirty  minutes'  play,  no  man  can  stand 
the  fatigue  of  so  protracted  a  struggle  at  arm's-length. 
The  butt  of  the  rod  is  then  placed  against  the  body,  and 
when  the  reel  handle  is  manipulated,  a  blow  in  the  stom- 
ach is  received  at  each  revolution.  Influenced  by  this 
annoyance,  I  place  a  fixed  band  immediately  below  the 
grasp,  under  which  I  insert  one  end  of  the  reel  plate. 
The  sliding  band,  used  to  confine  the  other  end  of  the 
reel  plate,  is  placed  between  this  and  the  butt  cap. 

In  forming  your  reel  seat,  in  case  you  do  not  use  that 
of  metal  mentioned  above,  do  not  endeavor  to  shape  out 
a  depression  to  fit,  since  to  do  this  neatly  requires  time 
and  care,  and  it  is  difficult  to  finish ;  but  simply  file  the 
place  off  flat,  which  will  answer  every  purpose,  finish 
easily,  and  look  quite  as  well  if  not  better.  Of  course 
care  must  be  used  and  frequent  trial  of  the  fit,  that  you 
do  not  take  off  too  much. 

It  is  better  to  have  your  handle  turned,  than  try  to 
make  it  yourself;  though  you  can  do  so,  governing  your- 


Rod-maTcing.  253 

self  by  the  principles  already  given  for  making  your 
joints.  In  the  former  case,  the  hole  to  receive  the  han- 
dle ferrule  or  its  support  should  be  bored  first,  and  the 
handle  turned  on  it  as  a  centre,  that  it  may  surely  coin- 
cide with  the  axis  of  the  handle. 

After  the  handle  is  shaped,  and  sand-papered  nicely, 
wet  it  and  let  it  dry.  This  will  roughen  it — "  raise  the 
grain,"  as  it  is  termed.  Now  take  the  finest  sand-paper 
you  have,  not  coarser  than  "0,"  and  smooth  it  again. 
Repeat  this  three  or  four  times,  using  the  same  piece  of 
sand-paper.  Then  when  dry,  varnish  with  shellac  dis- 
solved in  alcohol;  giving  it  three  or  four  coats,  applied 
at  about  three  -  hour  intervals.  When  this  is  perfectly 
hard,  rub  it  down  to  the  bare  wood  with  powdered 
pumice-stone  and  raw  linseed-oil,  applied  with  a  rag. 
This  will  stuff  the  grain.  Then  apply  three  or  four  more 
coats  of  shellac  and  rub  it  down  in  the  same  manner 
till  all  brush-marks  are  removed,  and  it  is  perfectly 
smooth.  Then  polish,  first  with  powdered  rotten-stone 
and  the  same  oil,  and  afterwards  with  dry  rotten-stone. 
This  will  give  a  nice  durable  finish. 

The  form  given  the  grasp  of  the  handle  of  the  rod  is 
more  than  a  mere  matter  of  appearance.  A  grasp  which 
from  its  shape  will  so  anchor  within  the  hand  as  to  slip 
neither  way  even  when  loosely  held,  would  seem  best  to 
meet  the  conditions  of  use.  Having  habitually  used  an 
independent  handle  on  my  rods  for  over  twenty  years, 
and  having  the  facilities  and  inclination  to  experiment, 
I  have  made  and  tried  almost  every  promising  style  of 
handle  I  could  hear,  see,  or  think  of.  The  opinion  de- 
duced from  these  experiments  is  that  the  plain  cylindri- 
cal grasp  is  the  worst,  and  that  that  shown  in  Figs.  43 
and  44  is  the  best  I  have  tried  ;  and  I  am  confirmed  in 


354  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

this  by  the  fact  that  practical  mechanics  so  habitually 
give  substantially  this  form  to  the  grasp  of  articles 
which  are  to  be  brandished  in  the  hand  without  slipping. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  a  grasp  may  be 
made  from  a  corn-cob,  which  is  by  no  means  to  be  de- 
spised, provided  the  hand  of  the  user  is  not  too  delicate. 
Its  merits  are  its  light  weight  and  the  firm  hold  af- 
forded by  its  corrugated  surface.  Its  demerits  are  that, 
if  used  immediately  after  handling  a  fish  and  without 
first  washing  the  fish  slime  from  the  hands,  it  becomes 
dirty  and  is  difiicult  to  clean.  This  objection  may  be 
overcome  to  a  great  extent,  it  is  true,  by  varnishing  the 
surface ;  but  the  very  characteristics  which  give  it  its 
merit  are  impaired  thereby. 

Cork -covered  grasps  for  the  handles  of  rods  have 
come  into  somewhat  extensive  use  since  this  book  was 
first  issued.  It  is  believed  nothing  better  is  known,  al- 
ways provided  the  cork  grasp  is  built  up  from  cork 
washers  of  substantial  thickness,  and  is  not  a  mere  sheet 
of  thin  cork  wrapped  around  and  glued  upon  the  han- 
dle. The  washer  construction  will  last  with  the  rod, 
and  when  it  becomes  soiled  may  readily  be  washed  clean 
with  soap  and  water.  The  sheet  method  looks  better 
as  long  as  it  preserves  its  integrity,  but  sooner  or  later 
it  flakes  off — sooner  if  used  much  in  the  rain  or  allowed 
to  become  and  remain  damp  for  any  length  of  time. 

A  word  of  caution  before  leaving  this  subject.  When 
the  ferrule  to  receive  the  butt  joint  is  countersunk  and 
cemented  within  the  handle,  the  cement  sometimes 
cracks  in  cold  weather  and  the  ferrule  begins  "  to  creep" 
— that  is,  slowly  to  work  out  from  the  action  of  the  rod. 
It  is  better  to  render  this  impossible  at  the  outset  by 
running  a  pin  through  ferrule  and  handle  just  before 


Mod-making.  255 

finishing  the  latter.  But  in  this  case,  as  in  all  others 
where  fastening  pins  are  used  in  rod  construction,  the 
pin  should  go  through  from  side  to  side  so  that  it  can 
be  driven  through  and  out,  should  the  separation  of  the 
parts  ever  become  desirable.  The  philosophy  of  an 
ideal  composite  mechanical  structure  resembles  that  of 
the  ideal  knot,  in  that  its  parts  should  not  only  remain 
in  perfect  co-operative  union  as  long  as  desired,  but 
should  also  permit  of  ready  separation  and  reassembling 
at  will. 

VARNISHING. 

The  next  step  in  making  a  wooden  rod  is  varnishing  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  shellac  is  the  worst,  and  coach-body 
varnish  the  best.  The  object  sought  is  to  cover  the  rod 
with  a  coating  that  will  be  absolutely  water-proof,  will 
not  crack  ;  and  should  it  receive  a  blow,  will  dent  and 
not  chip  out.  The  former  gives  an  easy,  speedy,  and 
poor  result;  the  latter  is  more  tedious,  but  once  on  is  a 
permanent  protection.  Rod-makers  complain  of  coach- 
body  varnish  that  it  is  a  very  tedious  drier,  but  this  is 
mainly  because  they  do  not  know  how  to  use  it.  Hung 
up  in  a  room,  a  thick  coat  may  not  be  dry  enough  to 
handle  in  two  weeks  ;  but  if  you  will  be  governed  by 
the  following  directions,  your  patience  will  not  be  sub- 
ject to  anything  like  such  a  tax. 

First  fit  a  plug  provided  with  a  wire  hook  to  each  of 
your  ferrules,  to  hang  the  joint  up  by  when  drying. 
Then  apply  your  varnish  in  as  thin  a  coat  as  you  can. 
This  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  success — as  thin  a  coat  as 
you  can  apply.  To  aid  in  this,  thin  the  varnish  with 
spirits  of  turpentine  until  it  works  freely,  and  all  brush- 
marks  flow  together  readily  and  soon  after  application. 
A  stiffish  brush  must  be  used.     Now,  if  the  weather  per- 


256  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

mit,  hang  the  varnished  work  out  in  the  sun  and  wind — 
the  wind  especially.  It  is  this  that  hardens  varnish,  and 
a  coat  that  will  remain  "  tacky  "  for  a  week  in -doors,  will, 
thus  treated,  become  perfectly  hard  in  twelve  hours.  Ap- 
ply no  second  coat  till  the  first  is  hard,  and  remember  to 
lay  it  as  thinly  as  you  can,  and  you  will  have  no  trouble. 
Apply  four  or  five  coats. 

When  these  are  perfectly  hard,  rub  down  with  pow- 
dered pumice-stone  and  water,  till  the  surface  is  smooth. 
Rub  the  work  frequently  with  a  damp  sponge  to  clean 
the  surface,  that  you  may  inspect  your  progress,  lest  you 
cut  through  the  varnish  altogether,  and  be  compelled  to 
begin  again.  When  this  is  finished,  rub  well  with  pow- 
dered rotten-stone  and  water,  and  then  polish  with  dry 
rotten-stone.  Wash  again  to  remove  any  that  may  ad- 
here, and  when  dry  rub  briskly  with  buckskin  or  a  piece 
of  silk.  This  will  give  a  beautiful  and  durable  finish. 
I  use  "  Crockett's  Spar  Composition."  In  good  drying 
weather,  when  treated  as  directed,  a  coat  may  be  ap- 
plied every  twenty-four  hours. 

The  conclusion  of  the  preceding  chapter  should  not 
be  overlooked.  It  was  there  shown  that  all  wood  is 
hygroscopic — ^.e.,  absorbs  water  from  the  atmosphere  ; 
that  wood  seasoned  indefinitely  in  an  ordinarily  heated 
dwelling-house  still  contained  from  eight  to  twelve  per 
cent,  of  moisture  ;  that  the  less  the  contained  moisture 
the  greater  the  strength  and  elasticity  ;  that  whether 
the  wood  was  imperfectly  seasoned,  or  whether  it  had 
been  thoroughly  dried  out  and  then  allowed  to  absorb 
moisture,  was  the  same  so  far  as  the  effect  on  its  strength 
and  elasticity  was  concerned  ;  and  that  wood  could  be 
artificially  dried  without  injury  provided  it  was  not  ex- 
posed to  a  temperature  above  120°  F. 


Rod-making.  257 

The  practical  deduction  from  all  this  is  obvious. 
"When  the  joint  is  ready  to  varnish  it  should  be  exposed 
for  some  days,  more  or  less  according  to  its  thickness, 
to  a  temperature  as  near  120**  F.  as  is  available.  Thus 
the  wood  will  be  dried  as  much  as  is  possible  without 
injury,  and  the  maximum  of  strength  and  elasticity  be 
obtained.  When  so  dried  no  opportunity  should  be 
given  it  to  absorb  moisture  from  the  atmosphere,  but  it 
should  receive  its  first  coat  of  varnish  at  once.  This  is 
the  ideal  procedure,  to  be  approached  in  practice  as 
nearly  as  circumstances  will  permit.  Room,  joint,  brush, 
and  varnish  should  by  no  means  be  cold  when  varnishing. 

WRAPPING    ON   THE    RINGS. 

This  is  the  next  step  in  order.  Assuming  that  you 
have  never  either  done  this  yourself  or  seen  it  done, 
the  first  requisite  is  the  mastery  of  the  "  invisible  knot." 
In  the  Chapter  on  Repairs  you  will  find  illustrated 
directions  for  tying  this.  Another  method  is  also  given 
of  accomplishing  the  same  result — the  fastening  off  of 
the  silk  wrappings.  But  the  acquisition  of  the  true  "  in- 
visible knot "  is  strongly  recommended,  since  it  may  be 
applied  in  many  cases  where  the  other  cannot.  I  believe 
it  one  of  the  most  important  and  useful  additions  that 
the  angler  can  make  to  his  general  knowledge  of  the  art; 
and  this  not  only  on  account  of  the  benefit  to  your  indi- 
vidual self,  but  because  it  will  enable  you  to  help  many 
a  brother  angler,  much  your  senior  in  experience  and  skill, 
out  of  a  scrape,  and  thus  requite  him  for  advice  and  in- 
struction. The  value  of  aid  from  the  experienced  to  the 
beginner,  when  given  at  the  water's  side  and  rod  in  hand, 
cannot  be  exaggerated,  and  you  should  lose  no  opportu- 
nity to  avail  yourself  of  such  assistance. 
17 


258  Fly-Tods  and  Fly-tachle. 

Therefore,  study  the  Chapter  on  Repairs  carefully,  try- 
ing each  step  practically  until  it  is  perfectly  familiar. 
Supposing  this  to  have  been  done,  and  that  you  can  now 
not  only  wrap  on  the  silk  but  fasten  it  off  as  well,  let  us 
proceed  to  put  the  rings  on  your  new  rod. 

First  as  to  the  sizes  to  be  used.     That  the  rings  should 

be  large  is  one  of  the  traditions  of  fly-fishing.     While 

this  may  have  been,  doubtless  was, 

O/*^  >^  advisable  when  a  rough  horse-hair, 
V^     v-/     or  horse-hair  and  silk  line  was  em- 

A  B         C       ployed,  it  is  no  longer  so,  since  an 

*'Sd1irittatc?or\fpJ["    enamelled  water  -  proofed  line  with 

its  polished   surface,  is  practically 

the  only  thing  used.     The  sizes  I  prefer  are  here  shown. 

They  are  known  to  the  trade  as  Nos.  4^,  4,  and  3^,  in 
the  order  given,  A  being  4 J. 

Be  liberal  in  the  use  of  rings.  If  you  seize  a  piece  of 
wood  of  uniform  strength  by  the  ends,  and  break  it,  it 
does  not  give  way  where  it  is  grasped,  but  at  some  inter- 
mediate point.  And  thus  with  a  fly -rod.  By  being  lib- 
eral in  the  matter  of  rings  you  diffuse  the  strain,  so  that 
though  its  aggregate  be  great,  yet  at  no  place  will  it 
reach  the  breaking  point. 

Place  a  ring  close  to  each  ferrule  and  its  mate — ^.€., 
so  that  when  the  rod  is  jointed  a  ring  will  be  both  above 
and  below  the  unyielding  metal ;  for  thus,  for  reasons 
before  stated  or  implied,  you  lessen  the  danger  of  acci- 
dent at  those  points. 

I  place  two  rings  on  the  butt  joint,  one  at  the  ferrule 
uniting  it  to  the  middle  joint,  and  one  about  a  foot  be- 
low. Seven  rings,  or  even  eight,  if  the  joint  is  very  long 
and  the  butt  correspondingly  short,  I  allow  for  the  mid- 
dle joint,  and  seven  for  the  tip.     These  rings  should  be 


Hod^making.  259 

so  spaced,  that  the  intervals  between  them  constantly 
and  uniformly  diminish  from  the  butt  to  the  tip. 

Now  unite  your  rod  and  try  it  in  every  position,  turn- 
ing the  several  joints  till  you  find  that  adjustment  with 
which  the  action  is  best.  You  will  find  it  in  that  po- 
sition in  which  the  rod  is  most  flexible,  for  all  flexible 
bodies  tend  to  bend  in  the  line  of  least  resistance. 
If  you  attempt  to  force  it  to  bend  otherwise  by  adjust- 
ment of  the  rings,  a  compromise  between  the  two,  vary- 
ing in  proportion  at  different  parts  of  the  rod,  will  re- 
sult, and  the  action  of  the  rod  will  not  be  fair  and  true. 
A  glance  will  tell  you  whether  the  ferrules  coincide  with 
the  axis  of  the  rod.  If  they  do  not,  strive  to  find  some 
adjustment  that  will  permit  the  crook  to  be  set  so  that 
it  inclines  upward.  Having  arranged  this,  look  your  rod 
carefully  over,  and  if  you  find  any  place  where  the  grain 
appears  to  run  out  to  the  surface,  try  to  bring  this  on  the 
side,  and  not  on  the  upper  or  under  surface  of  the  rod ; 
for  this  indicates  the  natural  line  of  cleavage,  or  tendency 
to  split.  The  cohesion  between  the  fibres  of  the  wood 
here  is  much  less  than  their  tenacity  ;  or  in  other  words, 
it  would  require  far  less  force  to  split  the  fibres  apart 
than  to  tear  them  asunder.  When  the  rod  is  bent,  the 
upper  surface,  since  it  is  the  longer  part  of  the  curve, 
must  stretch,  and  the  lower,  for  an  analogous  reason, 
must  condense  somewhat.  Under  a  heavy  strain,  if  the 
part  in  question  were  placed  above  or  below,  the  fibres 
would  be  apt  to  separate  and  slide  over  one  another  on  this 
line,  or  in  other  words  split;  whereas  on  the  sides  the 
tendency  to  this  is  less,  and  the  fibre  must  rather  rupture 
before  the  rod  can  give  way. 

Having  carefully  studied  all  these  points,  avoiding 
all  the  evils  you  can,  and  compromising  with  judgment 


260 


Fly^ods  and  Fly-tackle. 


between  those  you  cannot  avoid,  make  a  scratch  with  a 
pin  on  the  varnish  of  each  joint,  to  indicate  the  side 
upon  which  the  rings  are  to  be  placed.  Do  not  trust  to 
a  lead-pencil  mark,  since  it  is  too  much  trouble  to  find 
this  place  to  risk  losing  it  ;  and  neither  on  metal  nor 
varnish  will  such  a  mark  bear  much  handling.  Also 
make  the  scratch  close  to  the  ferrules,  where  they  will 
eventually  be  covered  by  wrappings,  so  as  not  to  disfig- 
ure the  rod.  Then  with  a  lead-pencil  mark  the  point 
where  each  wrapping  is  to  begin. 

The  next  step  is  to  prepare  your  "  keepers  ;"  for  those 
sold  are  not  nearly  as  good,  and  are  much  more  difficult 
to  manage,  than  those  you  can  make.  Procure  a  piece 
of  sheet-brass  or  german-silver  about  the  thickness  of  a 
sheet  of  good  writing-paper.  For  this  you  can  write  to 
Frasse  &  Co.,  No.  95,  or  to  Montgomery  &  Co.,  No.  105, 
both  in  Fulton  Street,  New  York  City,  who  can  deliver 
it  by  mail.  Twenty-five  cents'  worth,  exclusive  of  post 
charges,  will  last  for  a  long  time.  Cut  with  scissors  a 
strip  from  one  edge  W  of  an  inch  wide.  Heat  it  red  hot 
and  let  it  cool ;  this  will  anneal  it,  and  make  it  manage- 
able. Now  cut  off  strips  at  right  angles  to  the  length 
and  about  this  width — 


A 

.  -  " 


B  CD 

Fig.  46.— ii,  annealed  strip  of  metal;  £,  width-keeper  for  butt;  C,  same  for 

middle  joint ;  D,  same  for  tip. 

The  illustration  gives  the  general  idea  ;  but  you  should 
vary  the  width  a  little,  that  as  the  diameter  of  the  rod  de- 


Rodrnriaking.  ^Wl 

creases,  the  width  of  your  keeper  may  correspondingly  di- 
minish.  Next  point  all  your  keepers  thus  " 

with  scissors.     Next  lay  each  point  on  a    ^^     ^   4.  ""^ 
piece  of  iron,  and  thin  it  with  a  small 
hammer  to  obtain  the  result  shown  in  an  exaggerated 
manner  in  the  following  figure,  in  which  an  edge  view  of 


Pig.  48. 

a  keeper  so  treated  is  shown.  When  this  is  complete  you 
are  prepared  to  attach  the  rings. 

Use  such  colored  silk  as  you  may  fancy — scarlet  is 
most  usual — but  of  the  very  best  sewing-machine  quality. 
Nothing  is  more  disgusting  than  to  encounter  a  knot  or 
other  imperfection  when  a  winding  is  almost  complete, 
and  thus  be  forced  to  undo  your  work  and  begin  again. 
The  size  indicated  by  the  letter  A  is  best  for  butts  and 
middle  joints  ;  that  known  as  O  for  tips. 

There  are  three  ways  of  treating  the  silk,  each  having 
its  good  and  its  bad  features.  The  first  materially 
lightens  the  labor  of  winding,  and  the  silk  retains  its 
color  fairly  well,  but  it  does  not  have  the  hold  on  the 
rod  of  the  others. 

Take  an  empty  spool,  place  it  on  the  winding  attach- 
ment of  a  sewing-machine,  and  reel  the  silk  off  from  the 
spool  on  which  it  came  on  to  the  empty  spool,  drawing 
it  through  a  piece  of  white  beeswax  while  so  doing. 
When  this  is  completed,  re-wind  the  silk  on  to  its  original 
spool  in  the  same  manner,  waxing  it  a  second  time.  It 
may  require  a  100-yard  spool  of  A  and  a  50-yard  spool  of 
O  silk  to  a  rod ;  and  though  some  surplus  will  usually  re- 
main, it  will  not  be  safe  to  begin  with  less,  for  fear  a  new 


263 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-taxMe, 


spool  might  be  of  different  color,  or  assume  a  different  tint 
under  the  wax  and  varnish. 

Having  wound  on  about  four  or  five  turns,  insert  one 
point  of  the  keeper  under  these,  far  enough  not  to  drop 
out  when  the  joint  is  inverted.  This  the  thinness  of  the 
point  of  the  keeper  will  enable  you  easily  to  do.     Then 


Pig.  49.— il,  joint ;  J5,  winding  ;  C,  keeper. 

wind  it  on  tightly  nearly  to  its  middle,  with  care  that  each 
turn  of  the  silk  lies  close  to,  and  by  no  means  overlaps, 
its  neighbor.  Then  holding  the  turns  already  made  in 
place  with  the  left  thumb,  bend  the  uncovered  end  of  the 
keeper  upward,  thus: 

C 


i-^s^m^^^ 


Fig.  60.—^,  joint ;  B,  winding ;  C,  keeper;  D,  ring. 

and  wind  where  the  ring  is  to  be  placed.  Having  covered 
this  (about  one-eighth  of  an  inch,  a  little  more  or  less 
according  to  the  size  of  the  ring),  drop  on  the  ring, 
holding  it  with  the  left  thumb  in  the  position  shown  at 


EodrmaJcing.  263 

D  in  the  preceding  figure.  Then  bend  the  free  end  of 
the  keeper  down  on  to  the  joint,  and  with  the  back  of 
a  scissors  or  knife  apply  a  sharp  pressure  close  to  the  ring, 
and  this  will  be  the  result: 


^^ 


Fig.61.—il,  joint;  5,  winding;  C,  keeper ;  i),  ring. 

Then  finish  the  winding,  and  fasten  it  off.  Next,  with 
the  handle  of  an  old  tooth-brush,  or  other  similar  hard 
and  smooth  substance,  polish  the  winding  all  over.  This 
will  smooth  down  all  fuzziness  and  burnish  each  thread 
into  close  contact  with  its  neighbor.  If  this  is  carefully 
done,  it  is  wonderful  how  well  a  rather  botchy  job  can  be 
made  to  look,  unless  knots  or  overlaps  are  present.  Now, 
and  not  till  now,  proceed  to  cut  off  the  projecting  end 
of  the  silk.  First  give  it  a  pull  to  be  sure  the  burnish- 
ing process  has  not  loosened  the  fastening;  then  strain- 
ing it  tightly  towards  the  left,  cut  it  off  as  close  as  you 
can  with  a  sharp  knife.  Burnish  down  the  little  projec- 
tion left  by  the  end,  if  any,  and  proceed  to  the  next  ring. 
When  all  the  windings  are  finished,  brush  them  over  with 
a  single  coat  of  shellac.  Before  the  shellac  has  time  to 
set,  oil  the  end  of  the  forefinger  slightly  that  the  shellac 
may  not  adhere  to  it,  and  smooth  the  varnish  and  any  re- 
maining fuzziness  down  by  rubbing  the  winding  in  the 
direction  in  which  the  thread  runs.  This,  I  believe,  is 
the  upual  method  of  the  professional  rod-maker,  though  I 
never  saw  one  wind  a  rod. 


264  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

In  the  other  methods  the  winding,  and  the  ring,  and  its 
keeper  are  all  manipulated  in  the  same  way,  but  the  bur- 
nishing is  omitted.  The  first  of  these  is  to  wind  with  silk 
directly  from  the  spool  without  waxing,  and  when  the 
joint  is  finished  to  varnish  with  the  same  varnish  as  the 
rod.  The  silk,  thus  swollen  by  the  varnish  it  absorbs, 
becomes  very  tight,  and  is  pasted  down  and  adheres  to 
the  rod  itself;  but  every  roughness  of  the  silk  remains 
and  is  increased,  so,  though  it  makes  the  most  durable 
and  efficient  job,  it  looks  so  badly  as  to  overweigh  its 
advantages. 

The  remaining  method  is  to  wind  without  waxing  the 
silk  or  burnishing,  then  to  wet  the  wrapping  with  hot 
water,  and  lastly  to  brush  it  over  with  thin  glue.  The 
silk  must  first  be  wet,  or  the  glue  will  not  penetrate  and 
bind  the  silk  to  the  wood  as  it  should.  This,  as  inti- 
mated, fastens  the  silk  securely  to  the  wood,  and  gives 
it  almost  the  firmness  of  a  metal  band.  The  original  color 
of  the  silk,  too,  is  preserved  far  better  than  by  any  other 
method,  and  every  projecting  fibre  is  glued  down  smooth- 
ly. It  also  stuffs  the  silk  so  that  at  least  two  less  coats 
of  varnish  are  required  to  finish.  Were  it  not  for  the 
difficulty  of  handling  the  slippery  silk  without  neutraliz- 
ing that  property  by  the  aid  of  the  wax,  this  would  be 
the  best  method.  But  taking  all  things  into  considera- 
tion, it  is  advisable  to  begin  with  the  first.  When  you 
make  a  split-bamboo  then  resort  to  this. 

VARNISHING   THE    WRAPPINGS. 

This  is  the  concluding  step.  Use  the  same  varnish 
recommended  for  the  rod,  though  it  may  be  thinned  even 
a  little  more  to  advantage,  at  least  for  the  initiatory  coat. 
First,  with  a  small  chisel-pointed  stick,  insert  a  drop  of 


Rod-making.  365 

varnish  under  the  rings  on  each  side.  This  is  important, 
lest  water  find  its  way  under  the  silk  and  turn  it  white, 
to  the  ruin  of  its  appearance.  Then  apply  the  varnish  to 
the  wrapping  so  treated  with  a  small,  flat,  artist's  bristle 
brush,  being  careful  not  to  run  over  on  to  the  polished 
joint.  Lay  on  the  varnish  in  a  thin  coat,  and  by  no  means 
so  that  it  will  run.  If  you  have  applied  an  excess,  wipe 
your  brush  dry  with  a  piece  of  paper,  and  take  it  up 
therewith.  Treat  each  winding  in  succession.  Continue 
this  process,  drying  as  when  varnishing  the  rod  itself, 
until  you  have  a  smooth  solid  surface.  Your  rod  is  then 
complete,  and  the  pleasure  its  use  will  afford  over  and 
above  even  a  better  one,  which  is  the  handiwork  of  an- 
other, will  be  at  least  fifty  per  cent. 

TIPS. 

Already  the  importance  of  having  this  part  as  light  as 
possible,  because  of  its  distance  from  the  hand  and  con- 
sequent leverage,  has  been  dwelt  on.  But  it  must  also 
be  elastic  and  prompt  in  action  to  pick  the  fly  sharply  off 
the  water  and  send  it  behind  the  caster  without  effort, 
since  otherwise  nice  casting,  if  not  out  of  the  question,  is 
at  all  events  much  more  difficult. 

I  know  of  but  two  materials  at  all  suitable  for  tips — 
lancewood  and  split-bamboo.*  They  are  related  in  order 
of  merit,  the  former  to  the  latter,  as  the  silver  dollar  of 
our  fathers  is  related  to  a  five-dollar  gold-piece.  Many 
amateur  rod-makers  stand  aghast  at  the  idea  of  working 
split-bamboo,  and  to  make  a  good  six-strip  hexagonal  rod 
does  require  considerable  skill  and  judgment.     But  to 

*  Some  light-colored  greenheart  equals  lancewood  for  this  purpose; 
also  see  Chapter  on  Rod  Material,  under  head  of  "Dagame." 


266  Fhy^ods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

make  a  four-strip  split-bamboo  tip  is  not  a  difficult  job, 
and  one  even  poorly  made  is  better  than  one  of  the  best 
lancewood.  I  strongly  advise  you  to  try  it  if  it  is  pro- 
posed to  make  rod-making  a  standing  amusement.  In  this 
case  it  is  better  to  make,  say,  half  a  dozen,  one  right  after 
the  other,  for  if  you  do  botch  the  first  and  second,  you 
will  by  that  time  have  acquired  the  necessary  skill,  and 
will  have  your  hand  in,  as  the  saying  is.  The  others  will 
then  turn  out  all  right.  You  will  then,  too,  have  a  stock 
of  tips  available  for  any  rods  you  may  thereafter  make. 

For  this  purpose  you  will  select  the  butt  ends  of  the 
Calcutta  bamboo,  that  distinguished  from  other  kinds  by 
the  charred  markings  on  its  yellow  exterior.  Many  saw 
their  cane  into  strips,  but  I  believe  splitting  with  an  or- 
dinary table-knife  the  better  method.  As  you  examine 
the  cane,  you  will  notice  on  opposite  sides  and  at  alter- 
nate joints,  depressions  where  the  leaf  grew.  Through 
the  middle  of  these  your  first  split  should  be  made,  and 
the  cane  be  thus  halved;  then  quarter  it;  next,  holding 
each  quarter  in  a  vise,  remove  the  remains  of  the  inner 
divisions  (which  in  the  cane  separate  the  joints  one  from 
the  other)  with  a  mallet  and  f-inch  gouge. 

To  save  repetition,  you  are  referred  to  the  remarks  on 
making  six-strip  bamboo  rods  for  such  information  as  I 
am  able  to  give  to  aid  in  the  discrimination  of  fit  from 
unfit  material;  but  it  may  be  remarked  that  a  tip  does 
not  absolutely  require  as  good  stuff  as  a  butt  or  middle 
joint,  though  of  course  it  should  be  had,  if  possible. 

Next  split  your  four  quarters  into  strips  about  one- 
half  wider  than  the  inner  diameter  of  the  cap  of  your 
tip  ferrule,  rejecting  the  strips  in  which  the  eyes  left  by 
the  leaves  occur.  Or,  if  the  bamboo  is  excellent  and  the 
distance  between  the  joints  considerable,  you  may  cut 


Rodr-making, 


367 


out  these  knots,  and  splice  on  a  piece  to  be  the  smaller 
end  of  the  tip.  The  process  is  explained  in  the  Chapter 
on  Repairs.  This  splice  should  be  at  least  three  inches 
long — should  be  glued,  and  made  with  care  to  insure  a 
perfect  fit,  and  that  the  rind  on  one  part  meets  that  on 
the  other.  The  rind  or  exterior  cuticle  should  be  con- 
tinuous on  the  longer  part  of  the  tip,  thus : 

C 

c. 


Fig.  ffl.—A ,  longer  part  of  tip ;  £,  shorter  part  of  same ;  C,  rind  side ;  A  pith  side. 


This  splice  should  net  exceed  eighteen  inches  at  most 
from  the  small  end  of  the  tip,  and  must  be  wrapped  with 
silk  its  whole  length  when  the  tip  is  finished.  This  is 
only  advisable  when  your  bamboo  is  really  excellent  in 
quality,  and  you  feel  that  you 
cannot  afford  to  throw  aside 
any  that  can  by  possibility  be 
made  available.  Make  your 
first  effort  with  your  poorest 
material,  reserving  the  better 
till  you  have  acquired  a  little 
experience. 

Having  split  out  four  good 
strips,  level  off  the  knots  on 
the  inside  with  a  rasp,  and  on 
the  outside  with  a  file.  Then 
plane  off  the  edges,  trying 
to  get  them  as  square  with  the  rind  side  as  possible,  and 
thus  approximate,  but  only  approximate,  to  your  taper. 
The  subsequent  steps  will  be  facilitated,  if  all  the  strips 


Pig.  68. 


268  Fly-rods  <md  Fly-tackle, 

have  nearly  a  uniform  taper  and  width.  You  will  now 
require  a  couple  of  strips  of  pine,  say  one  and  a  quarter 
inches  square,  with  right  angled  triangular  grooves  run- 
ning the  whole  length,  of  which  the  preceding  illustra- 
tion is  a  cross-section. 

A  carpenter  can  plane  these  out  for  you,  in  which  case 
have  a  groove  in  each  surface,  or  you  can  build  it  up  by 
uniting  two  pieces  of  wood,  on  the  edge  of  each  of  which 
one-half  of  the  groove  is  formed.  It  is  essential  that  the 
angle  at  the  bottom  of  this  groove  be  a  right  angle,  and 
that  the  sides,  a  a,  be  equal ;  for  on  the  accuracy  of  this 
depends  the  accuracy  of  your  result.  The  former  you 
can  test  with  the  corner  of  your  square ;  the  latter  by 
your  eye.  When  this  is  arranged  to  your  satisfaction, 
lay  one  bamboo  strip  in  the  groove  in  the  position  indi- 
cated, and  plane  off  to  the  dotted  line  in  Fig.  54. 


Fig.  54.  Fig.  56. 

A^  grooved  wooden  strip ;  B,  bamboo  strip ;  o,  rind  side,  and  &,  pith  side  of  lat- 
'  ter  ;  cc,  the  dotted  line. 

Now^^iSnge  the  bamboo,  so  as  to  plane  the  other  edge 
as  sh^own  in  Fig.  55,  like  letters  indicating  like  parts. 


Rod-making, 


Pig.  6T. 


Treat  each  strip  thus  in  turn,  when  you  should  have 
the  result  shown  by  this  cross-section,  the  letters  still 
indicating  the  same  parts.  The  angle  at  d 
should  be  a  true  right  angle,  to  be  tested  by 
your  square.  This  would  be  easily  obtained 
were  the  rind  side,  a  (which  you  must  by  no 
means  touch  with  the  plane),  flat  instead  of 
rounding.  If  much  out,  you  must  true  this  an- 
gle up  by  drawing  it  through  a  V-shaped  scraping  notch 
filed  in  one  of  your  steel  scraps.  Not  only  must  this  be 
a  right  angle,  but  the  apex  must  coincide  with  the  mid- 
dle of  the  strip — not  thus,  in  which  the  angle, 
d,  is  clearly  off  to  one  side,  as  shown  by  the 
lack  of  equality  in  the  sides,  hb.  This  will 
probably  bother  you  more  than  the  other,  but 
your  scraping  notch  will  easily  rectify  this. 
It  was  to  allow  for  this  scraping  that  the  taper  was  but 
approximated  to,  rather  than  completed,  when  planing 
the  edges  of  the  strip. 

Now  number  the  strips  with  a  lead-pencil  on  the  rind 
sides,  in  the  order  you  intend  them  to  go.  Then  place 
two  adjacent  strips  together 
in  the  groove,  thus  :  a  a  be- 
ing the  rind  as  before — that 
is,  with  the  rind  side  of  each 
strip  in  contact  with  the 
sides  of  the  groove.  It  may 
be  said  once  for  all,  that  this 
is  always  and  invariably  to 
be  the  position  of  the  rind 
side  when  applying  the  plane 
to  the  strips. 

Now  pass  your  plane  over  Pig.  sa. 


270  Fly^ods  cmd  Fly-tacJde. 

the  exposed  surface  twice,  or  at  most  three  times.  Then 
change  the  relative  position  of  the  strips,  placing  1  where 
2  was.  The  pith  sides  which  were  in  contact  will  now 
be  exposed,  and  the  surfaces  you  planed  before  will  be 
in  contact.  Take  off  two  or  three  shavings,  and  then 
return  the  strips  to  their  original  position,  and  repeat. 
Continue  this  until  the  taper  and  size  are  very  nearly  but 
not  quite  reached. 

Both  pairs  having  been  thus  treated,  melt  some  fresh 
glue,  closely  following  therein  the  directions  in  the  Chap- 
ter on  Repairs.  The  glue  you  so  prepare  you  may  re-melt 
for  future  use  three  times,  and  not  more.  Then  wash 
your  glue-pot  out  clean,  and  the  next  time  start  fresh. 
Glass  or  china  makes  the  best  glue-pot,  but  any  small  tin 
vessel  —  an  old  spice-box  for  example  —  will  answer  till 
the  tin  rusts  through.  In  the  latter  case  solder  on  three 
copper  -  wire  legs  about  one  -  third  of  an  inch  long,  and 
punch  a  couple  of  holes  near  the  rim  that  you  may  attach 
a  wire  handle,  like  that  usually  used  on  pails.  To  suc- 
ceed with  glue,  not  only  must  it  be  fresh,  but  in  melting 
it  must  not  be  heated  above  the  boiling-point  of  water. 
Merely  placing  the  glue-pot  in  another  vessel  containing 
water,  and  applying  heat  to  the  latter  is  not  sufficient 
to  insure  this,  since  the  heat  may  be  conducted  directly 
through  the  bottom  of  one  to  the  bottom  of  the  other. 
In  the  neglect  of  these  seemingly  trifling  precautions  will 
be  found  the  reason  why  a  violin-maker  will  unite  to  last 
for  centuries  the  many  parts  of  his  complicated  struct- 
ure, and  this  with  glue  alone,  and  without  a  single  nail 
or  screw,  while  another  cannot  thus  join  anything  to 
hold  even  for  a  few  days.  Therefore  do  not  fail  to  raise 
your  glue-pot  above  the  bottom  of  your  water-bath,  so 
the  fluid  may  surround  it  on  all  sides. 


Bodr^makmg.  271 

But  we  have  made  undue  haste.  Before  the  glue  stage 
we  must  see  that  we  have  a  glue  joint,  that  is,  a  contact 
between  the  surfaces  to  be  united,  so  close  that  the  place 
of  union  is  scarcely  perceptible.  To  accomplish  this  your 
plane-blade  must  have  had  frequent  intercourse  with  the 
oil-stone,  for  in  this  material  more  than  any  other  noth- 
ing but  ruin  can  be  accomplished  with  a  dull  tool.  But 
no  matter  how  careful  you  may  have  been  in  this,  the 
fibre  will  be  more  or  less  roughened  at  the  knots.  Smooth 
these  by  "  draw-filing  "  with  your  "  mill-saw  "  file,  hold- 
ing each  strip  singly  and  by  itself  in  the  groove.  In  or- 
dinary filing  the  file  is  actuated  in  the  direction  of  its 
length;  but  this  is  not  the  case  in  "  draw-filing."  To  do 
the  latter  successfully,  hold  the  file  loosely  in  the  hand 
and  close  to  the  blade;  extend  the  first  finger  so  as  to 
bear  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  blade,  and  apply  that 
part  of  the  under  surface  which  is  beneath  the  finger  to 
the  work.  Should  you  grasp  the  file  firmly,  and  rely 
upon  the  guidance  of  your  hand  alone  to  direct  the  file, 
you  would  probably  round  the  work  more  or  less,  there- 
by impairing  rather  than  improving  your  glue  joint. 
But  by  following  the  directions,  if  the  file  is  not  properly 
applied  at  first,  it  instantly  adapts  itself  to  the  surface 
beneath ;  and  this,  if  flat  at  first,  as  it  will  be  from  the 
operation  of  the  plane,  remains  flat. 

Now  move  your  file  to  and  fro,  but  sideways  instead 
of  in  the  direction  of  its  length.  It  is  important  that 
this  be  well  understood,  because  of  its  frequent  use  in 
rod-making.  Whenever  inequalities  occur  to  which  it 
is  inconvenient  to  apply  the  plane,  as  for  example,  should 
you  so  mismanage  your  rounding  scraper  as  to  form 
local  ridges,  these  are  removed  in  this  manner. 

Having  thus  removed  any  local  roughness  caused  by 


272 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 


Fig. 59.— ^,  grooved  strip;  B,  bamboo  strip;  C,  file;  arrows  show  direction  of 

motiou. 

the  plane,  make  a  loop  in  the  end  of  a  seven-foot  piece 
of  strong  linen  thread  such  as  is  used  in  carpet-sewing ; 
pass  the  loop  over  a  hook  secured  in  any  convenient 
manner,  place  together  in  their  proper  position  two  of 
the  bamboo  strips  which  have  been  planed  as  a  pair, 
and  fasten  them  temporarily  together  by  winding  the 
thread  spirally  from  the  larger  to  the  smaller  end.  To 
do  this,  wind  the  end  of  the  thread  two  or  three  times 
around  the  strips  until  caught,  and  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  leads  from  the  under  side  towards  the  hook  ;  then 
putting  a  strain  on  it,  wind  it  on  spirally  by  turning  the 
strips  from  you.  Having  wound  it,  with  the  turns  about 
half  an  inch  apart,  to  the  small  end,  fasten  off  with  a 
couple  of  half  hitches.  Then  examine  the  glue  joint 
carefully  that  it  is  a  perfect  fit ;  and  this  it  should  be 


Rod-making.  273 

everywhere,  except  where  the  plane  has  torn  up  the 
grain,  if  you  have  brought  the  bamboo  to  a  knife  edge. 
Mark  any  defective  places,  and  draw  -  file  them  till  the 
contact  is  perfect.  Treat  the  other  pair  in  the  same 
way  ;  then  tie  all  four  together  in  their  proper  order. 


Fig.  ta,—A,  half  hitch. 

Scrutinize  the  accuracy  of  the  joints  carefully,  and  es* 
pecially  see  that  they  so  unite  as  to  form  a  solid  whole, 
for  the  outer  edges  may  meet  perfectly,  while  the  inner 
are  separated  by  an  interval.  If  you  are  satisfied  that 
the  union  of  all  four  is  perfect  to  the  centre,  you  may 
proceed  to  finish  your  taper  (which  up  to  this  point 
you  have  only  approximated  to),  and  glue  all  four  to- 
gether at  once  ;  but  if  you  are  not  positive  as  to  this, 
then  glue  each  pair  together  separately,  winding  them 
with  strong  thread  as  before.  In  either  case  apply  the 
glue  to  each  surface,  and  be  sure  it  is  not  too  thick  lest 
it  chill  and  gelatinize  before  you  can  complete  the  wind- 
ing, in  which  case  the  glue  will  not  stick.  Having  com- 
pleted the  gluing,  heat  the  entire  tip  over  a  gas  flame 
or  chimney  of  a  kerosene  lamp,  to  re-melt  any  chilled 
glue,  should,  by  any  chance,  such  be  present.  Then 
with  a  second  thread  re -wind  the  tip  in  the  opposite 
direction.  This  will  be  correctly  done  if  the  two 
threads  so  cross  each  other  as  to  outline  diamond- 
shaped  patterns  upon  the  surface  of  the  bamboo  ;  for 
18 


374  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

during  the  first  winding  the  tip  will  probably  have  be- 
come twisted  on  its  own  axis.  The  second  winding  will 
tend  to  twist  it  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  thus  neu- 
tralize and  remedy  the  defect.  This  treatment  may  be 
resorted  to  with  profit,  when  uniting  the  parts  of  any 
split  -  bamboo  joint,  no  matter  of  how  many  strands  it 
may  be  made  up. 

Now,  to  return  to  the  case  in  which  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  glue  the  tip  in  pairs.  Assuming  them  to  have 
been  so  glued  and  to  have  dried,  file  out  from  the  angle 
near  the  larger  end  a  concave  place  to  receive  the  point 
of  your  drill^-thus : 

A 


\ 


-4,  concavity ;  B,  hole. 

Then  wind  twine  tightly  on  both  sides  of  the  concavity, 
that  your  drill  may  not  split  the  glue  joint  apart,  and 
drill  the  hole,  B.  Insert  a  brass  pin  in  the  bottom  of 
one  of  the  grooves  and  plane  off  the  flat  pith  surface, 
until  your  size  and  taper  are  both  correct.  Treat  both 
halves  in  this  manner,  glue  them  together  as  before  di- 
rected, and,  when  dry,  your  tip  is  ready  to  finish.  By 
this  latter  method  solidity  is  assured,  but  the  tip  is  not 
so  apt  to  turn  out  a  perfect  square  as  when  all  the  four 
quarters  are  united  in  one  operation.  If,  however,  you 
accept  and  act  on  the  sound  principle  that  utility  is  par- 
amount to  beauty,  you  will  uniformly  adopt  it  in  every 
case  in  which  the  perfect  solidity  of  the  union  of  the 
four  strips  is  suspected. 

To  finish,  draw-file  the  surface  lightly  to  remove  the 


Rod'-TRoking.  275 

glue  ;  then  draw  -  file  the  edges  to  form  an  octagon, 
and  thus  leave  it ;  or  apply  your  rounding  scraper  to 
make  it  circular,  as  you  may  prefer.  Either  will  answer. 
Next  sand-paper,  after  which  fasten  on  your  ferrule  and 
tip-ring.  Then  wind  with  O  silk,  wrapping  at  first  four, 
and  afterwards  three,  narrow  windings  at  equal  distances 
between  each  ring.  Lastly  varnish,  finishing  with  a  coat 
or  two  of  what  is  known  in  the  trade  as  "  flowing  var- 
nish," and  dry  as  heretofore  directed. 

Except  where  otherwise  specified,  you  will  be  obliged 
to  hold  the  strips  in  the  groove,  when  planing,  with  your 
left  hand.  Should  you  set  your  plane  too  rank,  the  strip 
may  slide  under  your  hold  ;  and,  since  no  glue  joint  can 
be  had  without  bringing  the  strips  to  a  knife  edge,  dan- 
ger of  a  nasty  cut  is  risked.  Therefore,  hold  the  strip  in 
place  by  pressing  upon  it  with  a  piece  of  leather  or  rubber. 

Bamboo  is  very  severe  on  a  cutting  edge,  yet  no  good 
result  can  be  had  unless  that  edge  is  keen.  Therefore, 
sharpen  your  plane  frequently,  giving  particular  atten- 
tion to  this  when  near  the  finish  of  any  strip.  Other- 
wise, though  it  may  cut  smoothly  between  the  knots,  it 
is  apt  to  tear  the  fibre  at  those  points,  and  give  trouble. 
This  is  also  much  more  likely  to  occur  if  the  strips  are 
sawed,  instead  of  split  out  of  the  cane. 

It  is  plain  that  this  method  is  equally  applicable  to  the 
construction  of  a  four-strip  butt  and  middle  joint,  but  in 
this  case  use  a  wooden  handle,  since  the  formation  of  this 
from  the  butt  strips  themselves  will  augment  the  difii- 
culties,  without  any  corresponding  advantage. 

HEXAGONAL    SPLIT-BAMBOO  RODS. 

This  is  the  top  notch  of  the  art. 

Up  to  the  present  writing  I  have  never  seen  a  profes- 


276  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

sional  rod-maker  at  work  on  a  rod  of  this  kind,  nor  have 
I  ever  heard  or  read  any  description  of  the  method  by 
them  employed,  except  in  such  vague  and  general  terms 
as  to  be  of  little  value  as  a  practical  guide.  The  follow- 
ing process  is  one  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  I  have  elab- 
orated, and  though  it  may  excite  a  smile  from  the  pro- 
fessional when  compared  with  his  simpler  and  perhaps 
more  certain  method,  still  I  can  say  one  thing  with  con- 
fidence for  it — it  will,  if  carefully  followed,  give  the  de- 
sired result. 

But  more  difficult  than  to  make  the  rod,  is  it  to  find 
material  of  a  quality  fit  for  the  purpose.  For  such  a 
rod  of  poor  material,  even  though  the  workmanship  be 
unexceptionable,  recalls  the  remark  of  Cicero  concerning 
Bibulus — "  He  is  a  man  [it  is  a  rod]  upon  whom  [which] 
no  one  but  a  philosopher  can  look  without  a  groan." 

Good  bamboo  is  very  rare,  as  has  been  before  inti- 
mated. The  Calcutta  variety  is  that  almost  universally- 
used  in  rod-making — that  distinguished  by  the  charred 
marks  on  its  exterior. 

In  selecting  it  choose  the  heaviest  canes.  Examine 
them  narrowly  for  worm  holes,  particularly  at  the  knots, 
pounding  with  the  butt  of  the  cane,  when  in  an  approxi- 
mately horizontal  position,  upon  the  floor,  to  see  if  any  yel- 
low worm-dust  shakes  out.  The  effect  which  these  pests 
produce  on  the  cane  is  singular.  They  seem  to  feed  on 
the  pithy  interior  only,  perforating  the  rind  compara- 
tively but  seldom.  But  where  they  have  crossed  the 
fibre,  though  the  exterior  is  apparently  unaffected,  still 
the  strength  at  that  point  is  absolutely  destroyed.  No 
strip  so  marked,  even  at  but  one  single  point,  must  ever 
be  introduced  into  a  rod,  for  there  it  has  not  the  strength 
of  the  weakest  pine.     Make  this  a  matter  of  principle  at 


Rod-making.  277 

the  outset,  for  you  will  often  be  tempted  to  use  a  piece 
excellent  in  all  other  respects,  except  that  one  little  trans- 
verse groove  on  its  inner  surface.  But  you  must  resist  the 
temptation,  or  you  sacrifice  the  one  merit  which  amateur 
work  should  always  have — honesty. 

Next  examine  the  cane,  to  see  how  much  available  ma- 
terial it  contains.  The  opposite  sides,  marked  at  the 
knots  by  the  eyes  where  the  leaves  once  grew,  are  al- 
ways worthless.  Therefore,  direct  y©ur  attention  to  the 
intermediate  portions.  Scrutinize  the  burns  carefully, 
for  if  these  are  so  deep  as  to  destroy  the  cuticle,  the 
strength  has  been  destroyed  as  well.  One  deep  burn 
may  utterly  ruin  a  cane  otherwise  excellent.  Next  see 
that  it  is  fairly  straight,  and  the  knots  not  too  protuber- 
ant. Then  look  to  the  color  of  the  cuticle.  A  boxwood 
yellow  is  a  good  sign,  while  a  uniform,  or  partly  uniform, 
bluish  cast  of  color  is  a  bad  indication.  Neither  of  these 
color  rules  are,  however,  without  frequent  exception,  so 
if  everything  else  seems  propitious,  you  may  risk  a  de- 
fect in  this. 

I  am  aware  that  a  bluish  color  is  usually  regarded  as 
fatal,  while  a  bright  straw-colored  interior  is  considered 
an  equally  sure  indication  of  merit ;  and  I  have  reason 
to  believe  that  the  conscientious  maker  not  unfrequently 
rejects  or  accepts  his  material  on  these  characteristics 
alone — exterior  defects  of  course  excepted.  During  the 
last  fifteen  years  I  have  split  very  many  canes,  and  never 
without  applying  the  tests  described  on  pages  279  and 
280.  One  of  the  strongest  and  most  elastic  bamboos  I 
ever  saw  was  decidedly  off  color.  While  running  a  rapid 
stream  in  a  canoe  last  September,  I  was  thrown  backward 
from  my  seat  bj  a  tree  which  had  fallen  across  the  stream. 
We  thought  we  could  squeeze  under  it,  and  thus  save  the 


278  Fly^ods  and  Fly-tacTde. 

trouble  of  hauling  the  canoe  over  the  obstruction.  We 
discovered  our  mistake  only  when  fully  committed  to 
abide  the  result.  My  rod,  a  hexagonal  split-bamboo  nine 
feet  and  eleven  inches  long,  and  between  seven  and  eight 
ounces  in  weight,  and  of  my  own  make,  lay  upon  the 
thwarts  of  the  canoe,  so  that  it  might  not  become  en- 
tangled in  the  overhanging  bushes  and  trees,  under  which 
the  tortuous  channel  frequently  compelled  us  to  take  our 
way.  I  fell  with  the  whole  weight  of  my  body  upon  the 
middle  joint,  striking  it  between  the  thwarts,  there  some 
three  feet  apart,  and  where  the  bamboo  had  nothing  but 
its  own  strength  to  oppose  to  the  shock.  But  two  of  the 
six  strands  gave  way,  and  those  splintered  in  such  a  fash- 
ion that  they  were  readily  returned  to  position,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  a  little  glue,  the  joint  was  restored  to  its  pris- 
tine strength  and  usefulness.  Such  is  the  strength  of  this 
material  when  really  first-class.  Yet  the  bamboo  of  which 
this  joint  was  composed  was  quite  blue  in  color. 

I  theorize  in  regard  to  this  matter  in  the  following  man- 
ner, and  deduce  the  following  conclusion :  A  cane  may 
discolor  from  a  fermentation,  or  analogous  change,  in 
its  own  constituent  elements  ;  or  from  contact  with  a 
discolored  fluid.  If  the  cane  is  free  from  sap,  it  is  but 
a  bundle  of  capillary  tubes,  and  the  immersion  of  one 
end  of  these  tubes  in  such  a  fluid  would  cause  them  to 
be  filled  by  it,  in  accordance  with  well  -  known  natural 
laws.  In  the  first  case  the  change  in  color  would  indi- 
cate a  change  in  structure,  while  in  the  second  it  would 
but  show  the  presence  of  foreign  coloring  matter,  not 
necessarily  more  injurious  than  the  dust  upon  a  shelf  is 
to  the  strength  of  that  shelf.  My  conclusion,  based  upon 
this  theory,  and  so  amply  confirmed  by  actual  experiment 
that  I  assert  it  with  as  much  confidence  as  any  other 


Hod-making.  279 

declaration  in  this  book,  is  that  the  tests  described  in  the 
last  paragraph  below  are  the  only  sure  guide  to  a  correct 
conclusion  as  to  the  quality  of  bamboo,  and  that  they 
should  never  be  omitted.  I  desire  to  be  quite  emphatic  in 
the  expression  of  this  opinion,  that  the  beginner  may  take 
it  to  heart,  and  make  it  a  cardinal  principle  in  split-bam- 
boo rod-making. 

Again  and  again  have  gentlemen  selected  bamboo  for 
me,  who  insisted  and  believed  that  they  could  discrimi- 
nate at  a  glance  between  the  fit  and  the  unfit.  This  I 
knew  I  could  not  do.  The  event  has  invariably  shown 
that  the  utmost  value  which  could  be  given  to  the  choice 
was  a  balance  of  probability  in  favor  of  its  correctness, 
and  by  no  means  the  certainty  of  excellence  which  should 
always  precede  the  expenditure  of  the  skill  and  labor  re- 
quired in  this  work.  Remember  it  is  just  as  difficult  to 
make  a  rod  from  poor  stuff  as  good,  and  that  the  first,  no 
matter  how  exquisite  the  workmanship,  will  be  as  infe- 
rior, practically,  to  the  poorest  wooden  rod,  as  a  split-bam- 
boo of  first-class  cane  is  superior  to  the  best  that  can  be 
constructed  from  any  other  known  material. 

Five  feet  from  the  butt  end  will  be  all  you  can  use, 
unless  the  cane  is  unusually'  large.  Next  split  with  a 
table-knife,  as  directed  under  "  Tips,"  and  get  out  the 
strips  which  include  the  "  eyes  "  from  which  the  leaf 
grew,  and  which,  though  worthless  for  rod-making,  are 
invaluable  for  testing  purposes.  First  bend  them  with 
the  rind  concave,  and  thus  determine  how  elastic  it  is. 
Most  bamboo  will,  however,  respond  to  this  test  pretty 
well.  Then  bend  them  with  the  rind  convex.  Here 
they  will  "take  a  set" — i.e.^  not  recover  entirely.  If 
this  is  considerable,  more  seasoning  is  required,  and  the 
cane  is  not  yet  fit  to  put  in  a  rod.     If  it  is  slight,  and 


380 


Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 


the  strip  feels  prompt  to  recover,  and  sprightly,  it  is  all 
right  so  far.  Now  test  the  strength  by  breaking  both 
strips  at  short  intervals  throughout  their  length.  If  they 
uniformly  break  gradually  and  with  difficulty,  and  with  a 
splintering  and  broom-like  fracture,  the  bamboo  is  good  ; 
but  if,  as  will  more  frequently  be  the  case,  they  break 
short  off,  and  the  bamboo  slivers  but  little,  they  are 
worthless.  Any  cane  which  has  strength,  but  is  deficient 
in  elasticity,  tie  together  with  the  interior  exposed  to 
the  air,  label  it  "  strong  but  not  elastic,"  and  store  it 
away  till  further  seasoning  cures  this  defect ;  but  if 
wanting  in  strength,  saw  it  up  for  kindling  -  wood,  and 
be  rid  of  it. 

Now  let  us  assume  that  six  good  strips  have  been  ob- 
tained. Arrange  them  side  by  side,  so  that  no  knot  is 
abreast  of  another — "  slip  the  joints  "  as  some  term  it — 
and  cut  off  to  the  proper  length,  or  an  inch  in  excess  of 
that.  File  off  the  knots,  and  square  up  the  edges  as  di- 
rected in  the  preceding  section,  approximating  closely 
to  the  taper  and  width.  Now  a  little  tool-making  is  in 
order. 


Fig.  62. 

Let  the  diagram  above  represent  your  smaller  "Bai- 
ley "  plane.  Drill  two  holes  through  the  sides  (A  A)^ 
so  as  to  admit  the  passage  of  a  f-inch  round-headed 
wood-screw,  and  this  so  that  the  interior  construction 


Rod-making. 


281 


of  the  plane  will  permit  the  screw  to  be  inserted  from 
within  outward  —  i.  e.,  so  the  head  is  inside,  and  the 
point  appears  on  the  exterior  of  the  plane.  It  will  be  a 
close  shave  at  the  handle  end,  but  it  is  possible.  Any 
one  who  has  a  lathe  will  do  this  for  you  in  five  minutes. 

Now  construct  the  following  diagram,  or  as  much  of  it 
as  may  be  considered 
necessary  to    obtain 
the  result  indicated 
hereafter: 

A  represents  a  Ij- 
inch  strip  of  pine, 
four  feet  long ;  B 
your  Bailey  plane,  of 
which  C  is  the  bot- 
tom and  D  D  the 
sides;  E  an  equilat- 
eral triangle,  which, 
since  all  sides  are 
equal,  must  also  have 
equal  angles  of  sixty 
degrees  each,  and  this 
is  the  angle  you  re- 
quire; i^an  end  sectional  view  of  a  block  of  wood,  to  be 
screwed  to  the  side  of  your  plane;  and  the  object  of  the 
diagram  is  to  enable  you  to  so  set  a  bevel  square,  or  to  so 
cut  a  piece  of  thin  sheet  metal,  as  to  guide  you  in  ob- 
taining the  angle,  G^  on  such  a  block. 

It  is  clear  that  if  a  piece  of  bamboo  is  rigidly  confined 
in  the  rabbet  of  the  strip,  A^  and  your  plane  is  applied 
with  a  block  (i^),  so  formed,  attached,  that  if  the  bottom, 
JjT,  of  that  block  rests  on  your  planing  board  while  the 
plane  is  actuated,  it  must  produce  the  proper  angle  of  six- 


S^VrM^ 


282  Fly^ods  a/nd  Fly-tackle. 

ty  degrees.  Unfortunately  these  conditions  are  difficult 
to  produce  exactly  in  practice,  for  the  rind  side  of  the 
bamboo,  which  rests  on  the  bottom  of  the  rabbet,  and 
which  must  in  this,  as  in  all  the  steps  of  rod  -  making 
with  this  material,  by  no  means  be  touched  with  the 
plane,  is  not  flat  but  rounding,  and  is  consequently  in- 
clined to  roll  somewhat  and  thus  vary  the  angle.  There- 
fore we  must  devise  some  means  of  holding  the  bamboo 
during  this  process  as  rigidly  as  possible. 

Having  procured  two  or  three  of  the  rabbeted  strips, 
A^  screw  two  cross-pieces  to  the  upper  surface,  about 
twenty -four  inches  apart  —  as  shown  in  the  following 
plan  and  sectional  views  (Figs.  64  and  65),  in  which  A 


A 


B 


Fig.  65. 


Pig.  64. 


represents  the  strip,  B  B  the  rabbets,  and  C  one  of  the 
cross-pieces : 

If  then  the  bamboo  strip  is  placed  in  position,  and 
soft  wood  wedges  be  inserted  between  its  upper  surface 
and  the  cross-pieces,  it  will  be  held  as  firmly  as  one  can 
well  secure  it.  Then  apply  the  plane  as  directed,  and  bev- 
el off  as  much  as  you  can  of  the  bamboo  lying  between 
the  cross-pieces,  say  about  eighteen  inches.  Bring  the 
bevel  almost,  but  not  quite,  to  a  knife  edge  with  the  rind 
side.     Then  shift  the  bamboo,  so  as  to  present  a  fresh 


degrees.  It  would 
be  well  to  file  such 


Rod-making,  283 

surface  between  the  cross-pieces,  proceed  as  before,  and 
repeat  this  until  you  have  one  side  of  the  strip 
bevelled  its  whole  length.    Then  turn  the  bam-  a 

boo  strip  end  for  end,  and  finish  the  other  side  J^^ 
in  the  same  manner.  This  should  be  the  result  4|^^ 
(Fig.  66),  A  being  the  rind  side  ;  B  the  apex  pi^ee. 
of  the  angle  formed  by  the  two  pith  sides,  C  C. 

Now  test  your  angle,  B,  with  a  notch  filed  in  a  piece 
of  brass  with  an  ordinary  triangular  saw-file — that  vari- 
ety known  by  the  astonishing  name  of  a  "  three-square  " 
file  is  meant.  This  file  having  three  equal  sides,  must 
have  three  equal  angles,  and  consequently  the  angle  we 
wish  —  viz.,  sixty 

dZZ  <      ^ 

a  notch,  and  also  Pig.  67. 

an  angle  to  fit  it,  as 

shown  by  Fig.  67,  and  keep  them  for  permanent  use  as 

gauges. 

Now  we  will  suppose  that  the  six  strips  have  been 
bevelled.  The  gauge  is  applied,  and  we  will  assume 
that  you  find  the  angle  either  incorrect  or  "  lop-sided." 
File  up  two  or  three  scraping  notches  in  a  scrap  of  your 
saw  steel  (mentioned  near  the  beginning  of  this  chapter) 
with   your  triangular  file,  and 

holding  the  steel   in  the  vise,     W/^\^/'^\/'\/~ 
draw  the  strip  through  one  of         V      V      V       V 
these  notches,  being  careful  to 
insist  that  the  rind  be  horizon- 
tal.   Thus  true  the  angle  wher-  pigTeT 
ever   it  may  require  it.      The 
accompanying  illustration  represents  such  a  scraper. 

It  is  obvious  that  it  is  possible,  and  for  a  first  effort, 


284  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

or  if  but  a  single  rod  is  proposed,  it  may  be  profitable, 
to  employ  this  scraper  alone  to  bring  us  thus  far  on  our 
way,  instead  of  preparing  the  plane  and  providing  the 
rabbeted  strip,  as  heretofore  described.  Or  one  fairly 
skilled  in  the  use  of  the  plane  may  place  his  square  strip 
of  bamboo  in  a  groove,  as  shown  under  the  head  of 
"  Tips  ;"  but  the  groove,  however,  must  be  one  of  sixty, 
instead  of  ninety  degrees  as  there  shown.  Then  by 
using  the  plane  as  there  described,  aided  by  frequent 
resort  to  the  gauge  shown  in  the  preceding  figure,  he 
may  accomplish  the  same  result  with  far  less  labor  than 
if  the  scraper  alone  were  relied  on.  The  object  sought 
is  to  obtain  a  true  angle  of  sixty  degrees  opposite  the 
middle  of  the  rind  side  of  the  piece  of  bamboo  in  hand 
— not  to  make  a  glue  joint,  which  is  a  subsequent  step. 
I  have  successfully  used  all  these,  and  many  other  ways 
to  accomplish  this  result,  and  doubtless  additional,  and 
possibly  better  methods  still,  will  suggest  themselves  to 
the  ingenious  reader. 

Next  you  must  provide  some  grooved  strips  differing 
from  those  described  in  the  preceding  section,  only  in 
that  the  angle  at  the  bottom  of  the  groove  must  be  sixty, 
instead  of  ninety  degrees. 

You  will  be  compelled  either  to  order,  or  make  your- 
self, a  special  plane  to  make  this  groove,  or  to  build  up 
these  strips  of  two  pieces,  glued  or  screwed  together. 
Assuming  you  have  chosen  the  latter  course,  you  will  at 
once  perceive  your  Bailey  plane  with  its  block  attach- 
ment will  be  a  great  aid.  For  if  it  will,  when  applied  as 
directed,  give  the  proper  angle  to  a  strip  of  bamboo,  it 
will  serve  the  same  purpose  when  applied  to  a  strip  of 
wood.  So  procuring  two  pieces  of  wood,  take  off  the  cor- 
ners, as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  (Fig.  69),  and  fasten 


Bodrfnaking. 


285 


them  together.  If  the  angle  is  incorrect,  remove  the 
handle  of  your  triangular  file,  and  rub  it  to  and  fro  in 
the  groove  until  the  error  is  rectified. 


Fig.  69. 


Should  you  conclude  to  order  a  plane  for  the  purpose, 
consult  a  hardware  dealer  or  a  carpenter  as  to  the 
maker.  My  plane  cost  H.90.  Make  a  sample  of  the 
groove  you  wish,  and  send  with  order,  to  lessen  the  pos- 
sibility of  mistake. 

The  grooved  strips  in  which  you  intend  to  finish  the 
component  parts  of  each  joint  should  be  of  hard  wood — 
pine  will  serve  for  the  others.  For  since  a  joint  of  this 
kind  cannot  well  be  altered  after  it  is  glued  together,  it 
is  plain  the  taper  and  consequent  action  of  the  rod  must 
be  determined  at  the  same  time  with  the  angle,  and  this 
without  the  opportunity  for  trial  and  local  modification 
which  a  wooden  rod  affords.  Therefore  some  definite 
rule  for  this  must  be  established  at  the  outset.  Perhaps, 
all  things  considered,  a  true  taper  for  each  joint  promises 
the  most  certain  result  —  at  all  events  for  the  middle 


386  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tachle. 

joint  and  tip.     The  butt  may  be  modified  a  little,  to  di- 
minish its  stiffness  near  the  handle. 

With  a  hexagonal  piece  of  hard  wood,  tapered  some- 
what, aided  by  a  small  hammer,  give  an  hexagonal  form 
to  that  end  of  all  of  your  ferrules  which  is  to  overlie  a 
joint.  A  careful  measurement  of  these  will  give  the 
width  of  each  end  of  each  strip.  Then,  having  deter- 
mined the  length,  with  your  largest  Bailey  plane,  plane 
off  the  grooved  side  of  the  strip  until  the  groove  corre- 
sponds with  that  width  at  the  proper  points,  and  tapers, 
or  narrows,  uniformly  between  those  points.  Though  no 
guide  but  the  eye  regulates  the  process,  it  will  be  found 
sufficient,  provided  care  be  used  and  undue  haste  to  fin- 
ish be  avoided.  Remember  it  is  easier  to  take  off  than 
add  on,  and  therefore  use  your  utmost  skill  and  patience. 
Have  your  plane-bit  keen,  and  set  it  "  fine  "  towards  the 
finish,  frequently  "sighting"  the  groove,  as  though  it 
were  a  rifle,  during  the  progress  of  the  job.  You  cannot 
be  too  careful,  for  you  are  now  deciding  the  action  of 
your  rod,  and  whether  it  shall  be  good,  bad,  or  indiffer- 
ent. This  being  properly  completed,  place  each  strip  in 
turn  in  one  of  the  pine  grooves,  selecting  one  above  the 
surface  of  which  the  bamboo  projects  but  little,  and  take 
off  a  shaving,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other, 
alternately.  When  the  bamboo  is  worked  down  to  a 
level  with  that  groove,  change  to  a  shallower,  and  so  con- 
tinue till  you  think  it  is  time  for  the  finish.  When  all 
the  strips  are  in  this  condition,  put  the  keenest  possible 
edge  on  your  plane-bit,  and  set  it  "  fine."  Mark  the  sur- 
face of  your  appropriate  finishing  grooved  strip  all  over 
with  a  lead-pencil,  or  otherwise,  so  that  nothing  can  be 
taken  from  it  by  the  plane  without  attracting  your  at- 
tention at  once.     Then  plane  down  each  strip,  first  a 


^' 


HodrTnaking.  287 


shaving  from  one  side  and  then  one  from  the  other,  and 
thus  alternately,  until  the  strip  is  flush  with  the  surface 
of  the  groove  as  it  lies  within  it.  Lest  you  should  unin- 
tentionally remove,  during  this  process,  something  from 
the  grooved  strip,  and  thus  destroy  the  integrity  of  the 
groove,  which  is  the  sole  guide  to  the  required  taper  and 
width  of  the  bamboo  itself,  you  were  directed  to  mark 
the  surface ;  and  that  should  this  accident  happen,  that 
it  may  be  of  as  little  moment  as  possible,  hard  rather 
than  soft  wood  was  advised  for  the  finishing  grooved 
strips. 

Not  only  should  the  glue  joints  be  perfect,  and  the  ac- 
tion true,  but  a  well-made  hexagonal  rod  should  present 
a  perfect  hexagon  at  every  part  of  its  length.  There- 
fore all  those  strips  which  are  to  be  united  together  must 
everywhere  correspond  in  width.  This,  as  well,  is  deter- 
mined by  your  finishing  grooved  strips.  Indeed  I  may 
say  they  are  the  key  to  the  position,  therefore  see  to  it 
they  are  well  made. 

Now  proceed  to  number  each  strip  in  its  intended  or- 
der, to  wind  them  together  with  string,  to  examine  the 
character  of  your  glue  joints,  to  draw-file  the  imperfec- 
tions, and  finally  to  glue  them  together,  straighten  them, 
and  in  all  things  relevant  follow  the  directions  for  mak- 
ing four-strip  tips,  as  given  in  the  preceding  section.  The 
process  of  winding  on  the  rings  is  elsewhere  described 
in  this  chapter,  as  well  as  varnishing,  except  that  the 
winding  should  precede  the  varnishing,  and  the  rubbing 
down  with  pumice-stone  should  be  omitted.  Between 
each  ring  a  number  of  narrow  windings  should  be  placed 
at  any  distance,  less  than  three  inches  on  the  butt,  that 
may  suit  the  fancy.  The  interval  between  and  width  of 
these  windings  should  gradually  diminish  towards  and  to 


\.f^ 


288  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

the  end  of  the  tip.  When  about  to  glue  together,  num- 
ber each  strip  on  each  of  its  faces,  so  you  can  select 
the  proper  one  at  once.  Get  the  assistance  of  another 
if  you  can,  apply  the  glue  to  each  strip  in  turn  on  both 
sides  for  half  its  length,  then  as  they  are  taken  up  one 
after  the  other,  before  you  lay  each  beside  its  neighbor, 
run  the  glued  surfaces  over  a  gas  or  lamp  flame  to  re- 
store the  glue  to  perfect  fluidity,  and  then  wind  as  di- 
rected to  within  about  three  inches  of  where  the  glue 
ends.  Then,  your  friend  holding  the  strips  apart,  apply 
the  glue  to  the  remaining  surfaces,  warm  as  before,  par- 
ticularly near  where  the  first  gluing  ended,  and  wind 
together  as  directed. 

Four-strip  tips  will  work  in  perfect  harmony  with  a 
hexagonal  butt  and  middle  joint.  Indeed  the  tip,  so  long 
as  it  be  light,  and  nervous  in  action,  is  the  least  impor- 
tant part  of  the  rod.  I  assume  that  an  independent  han- 
dle will  be  used,  whether  united  to  the  butt  joint  with  a 
ferrule,  or  permanently  glued  thereto. 

I  finish  this  chapter  with  many  misgivings.  At  one 
moment  I  fear  I  have  been  prolix  beyond  endurance,  at 
the  next,  lest  some  important  step  has  been  overlooked, 
taken  by  me  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  not  necessarily 
so  by  the  beginner  for  whose  benefit  I  have  written.  I 
can  well  imagine  the  smile  with  which  the  professional 
rod-maker  will  regard  my  doubtless  clumsy  and  unnec- 
essarily elaborate  methods.  In  self-defence  I  can  only 
say  that  beyond  what  I  was  able  to  gather  from  Thad- 
deus  Norris's  "  American  Angler,"  I  have  never  had  the 
advantage  of  advice  or  assistance  in  rod-making.  Each 
step  has  been  sought  and  found  through  much  experi- 
ment, and  many  a  failure.     Simpler  and  better  methods 


Bod-making.  389 

there  well  may  be ;  but  one  thing  I  know,  though  the 
way  may  be  devious  the  end  is  sure. 

If  others,  in  following  the  precepts  of  this  chapter,  shall 
derive  therefrom  some  portion  of  the  recreation  rod- 
making  has  afforded  me — if  the  coming  generation  of 
anglers  feel  towards  me  but  a  tithe  of  the  gratitude  and 
sense  of  obligation  with  which  I  regarded  Mr.  Norris 
when  I  was  a  beginner,  I  shall  be  quite  content  with  the 
reward  of  my  labor. 


290  FVy^oda  amd  Fly-tacUe. 


CHAPTER  Vin. 

REPAIRS. 

This  chapter  has  been  written  on  the  assumption  that 
the  reader  is  utterly  ignorant  of  this  most  important 
branch  of  the  art.  That  such  actually  is  the  case  with 
altogether  too  many  who  are  otherwise  experts,  we  all 
know.  That  such  should  not  be  the  case  we  are  also  aware. 
Nothing  in  relation  to  the  art  will  better  repay  the  be- 
ginner, and  those  who  lack  this  information,  than  a  care- 
ful study — not  merely  reading  over,  but  careful  study  in 
the  scholar's  sense  of  the  term — of  this  chapter.  For  to 
say  nothing  of  benefit  to  yourself  at  a  crisis,  what  pleas- 
ure can  be  greater  than  to  be  able  to  rescue  a  brother 
angler  from  the  consequences  of  disaster  to  his  tackle, 
and  to  receive  thanks  which  you  know  are  really  sin- 
cere and  heartfelt.  At  the  expense  of  a  little  trouble, 
nay,  rather  while  amusing  yourself,  you  have  at  the  same 
time  made  a  friend,  and  put  him  on  the  watch  for  oppor- 
tunity to  requite  the  obligation. 

But  it  is  to  the  first  of  these  inducements  we  most 
confidently  appeal;  for  if  that  elicits  no  response,  a  moral 
defect  is  evidenced  fatal  to  the  hope  that  that  man  will 
ever  become  a  true  angler. 

Many  think  this  art  hopelessly  intricate,  and  are  dis- 
couraged from  any  effort  to  acquire  it ;  but  this  is  a 
great  mistake,  for  there  is  nothing  in  it  insurmountable 
to  the  humblest  mechanical  skill.     The  most  common 


Repairs.  291 

error  is  to  attempt  the  result,  while  utterly  ignoring  the 
means  by  which  the  result  is  to  be  obtained — as  though 
a  man  should  wish  to  keep  books  without  first  learning 
how  to  write. 

First  acquire  a  few  very  simple  principles,  and  the  rest 
follows  "like  rolling  off  a  log." 

As  we  said  before,  this  chapter  is  written  as  addressed 
to  one  utterly  ignorant  of  this  branch;  and  this  for  two 
reasons :  first,  because  for  the  benefit  of  such  it  is  in- 
tended; and  second,  because  it  is  the  most  direct  way  to 
accomplish  the  end  in  view. 

At  the  foundation  of  the  majority  of  repairs  lies  cov- 
ering and  strengthening  the  injured  part  with  a  layer  of 
silk  thread,  tightly  wrapped  around  it.  It  is  thus  that 
rings  are  secured  to  rods,  and  breaks  repaired. 

Do  you  know  how  to  wind  a  string  around  a  stick? 
That  is  what  we  are  about  to  do.  But  if  you  really  wish 
to  learn  from  what  follows — if  you  really  wish  for  suc- 
cess, you  must,  as  in  your  every-day  life,  accept  the  con- 
ditions of  success. 

As  to  knots,  and  manipulations  of  that  kind,  the  con- 
dition of  success  is  this :  Actually  try  each  step  with 
the  book  before  you,  and  following  its  directions  ;  be 
sure  you  understand  that  step  before  you  essay  the  next. 
Thus  you  will  be  led  to  the  goal  as  easily  as  you  walk 
from  your  parlor  to  your  dining-room,  with  hardly  an 
appreciable  effort.  But  if  you  attempt  to  cover  the 
ground  in  either  case  with  a  leap,  you  court  and  will 
meet  failure. 

Now  to  our  lesson  (see  Fig.  70). 

Take  a  round  cane  and  a  piece  of  fish-line — or  string 
of  similar  size.  Wax  your  string.  It  will  facilitate  you. 
Hold  the  cane  in  your  left  hand,  knuckles  up  and  thumb 


292 


Fly-^ods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 


to  the  right.  Place  the  end,  A,  on  top  of  the  cane  some- 
where near  the  middle,  and  nip  it  at  B  with  the  thumb 
to  keep  it  in  place.     Bring  the  end  C  over  the  cane  on 


Fig.  70. 


the  side  towards  you,  and  downward ;  next  under  the  cane, 
and  upward,  but  on  the  side  away  from  you ;  then  over 
the  top  of  the  cane  and  the  end  A,  and  hold  C  in  your 
right  hand.  In  brief  you  have  wrapped  the  part  C  once 
around  the  cane  and  over  the  part  A,  confining  that  part 
to  the  cane.  Now  placing  some  part  of  the  cane  to  the 
right  of  where  you  have  begun  to  wind,  behind  any- 
thing, Ey  against  which  you  can  pull,  proceed  to  turn  the 
cane  around  on  the  axis  of  its  length,  keeping  a  steady 
strain  on  the  end  C  with  your  right  hand.  You  thus 
roll  the  line  upon  the  cane,  just  as  thread  is  rolled  on  a 
spool,  or  a  rope  on  a  windlass,  drawing  your  right  hand 
up  to  the  cane,  unless  you  allow  the  line  to  slip  through 
your  fingers.  You  will  have  no  difliculty  in  guiding  the 
part  C,  so  that  each  turn  shall  lie  in  close  contact  with 
its  predecessor. 

You  have  rolled  on  four  complete  turns,  which  envel- 
ope the  cane  and  the  part  A  (Fig.  Vl),  confining  the  lat- 


Jiepai/rs, 


308 


ter  to  the  cane.  Now  shift  your  left  thumb  over  upon, 
and  nip  the  coils  you  have  just  made,  c,  so  they  cannot 
unwind.  Seize  the  end  A^  and  draw  the  slack  of  the  first 
turn,  b,  up  to  and  against  the  others.     Then  continue 


Fig.n. 


your  winding  for  any  desired  length,  always  doing  this 
by  using  the  cane  as  a  roller,  turning  it  from  you.  You 
will  make  each  succeeding  turn  lie  more  neatly  against 
its  predecessor,  if  you  allow  your  right  hand  to  be 
drawn  up  to  the  cane,  rather  than  permit  the  line  to  slip 
through  your  fingers.  When  shifting  the  right  hand 
backward  for  a  fresh  hold  on  the  part  (7,  nip  the  turns 
you  have  completed  with  the  thumb  of  your  left  hand, 
lest  they  unwind  ;  as,  indeed,  you  will  do  in  any  case 
when  you  wish  to  free  your  right  hand  for  the  moment. 

We  have  now  completed  the  first  step.  You  see  that  it 
is  a  simple  matter,  and  one  within  the  scope  of  the  most 
limited  mechanical  ability.  Notwithstanding,  repeat  this 
at  least  four  times  more,  winding  an  inch  and  a  half  each 
time,  before  proceeding  to  the  next  step. 

This  is  to  fasten  off  the  end  C,  for  we  cannot  hold  it 
forever. 

There  are  two  methods  of  accomplishing  this  —  one 
easily  acquired  but  of  more  limited  applicability ;  the 


394  Fhj^ods  and  Fly-tacJde. 

other  a  little  more  difficult,  but  at  the  same  time  equal 
to  every  emergency. 

The  first  consists  merely  in  this — that  instead  of  plac- 
ing the  end  A  as  before,  you  double  it  as  shown  in  the 
following  figure,  placing  the  bight,  a,  where  the  end  A 


Fig.  72. 


was  in  the  former  case,  and  letting  the  actual  end  A  ex- 
tend at  least  three  or  four  inches  to  the  left  of  where 
you  wish  to  wind.  Having  completed  your  winding,  nip 
the  coils  with  the  right  thumb.  Then  with  the  left  hand 
pull  on  the  end  A  until  you  have  reduced  the  bight,  a, 
to  very  small  dimensions — say  one-quarter  of  an  inch  or 
less.  Now  with  the  right  hand  cut  the  part  C  about  two 
inches  in  length,  and  insert  the  end  through  the  bight,  a, 
close  to  the  winding.  Then  seizing  the  end  A,  draw  the 
bight,  a,  through  and  under  the  winding,  which  will  of 
course  carry  the  end  C  with  it,  and  confine  it  under  the 
coils.  Then  cut  off  the  ends  close,  and  the  job  is  com- 
plete. Try  this  at  least  four  times,  and  then  proceed  to 
the  next  step. 

This  is  the  real  "  invisible  knot,"  and  a  knowledge  of 
it  should  be  considered  absolutely  indispensable  to  the 
angler.     Begin  as  before.     Having  wrapped  four  or  five 


Rejpairs,  295 

times  over  the  end  A^  so  that  it  is  perfectly  secured, 
cut  it  off  as  close  as  you  can  to  the  wrapping,  so  that 
you  have  only  the  end  C  remaining.  Now  proceed 
with  the  winding  until  within  four  turns  of  as  far  as  you 
wish  it  to  extend  ;  then  nip  the  coils  already  made  with 
the  left  thumb  so  they  cannot  unwind,  cutting  off  the 
end  (7,  so  that  it  is  about  a  foot  long.  Now  drop  it 
down  between  you  and  the  cane,  next  under  and  then 
upward  behind  the  cane,  so  as  to  form  a  loop,  say,  three 
inches  across,  hanging  below  the  cane,  thus : 


Fig.  73. 


If  you  meet  any  difficulty  at  all  with  this  knot  it  will 
be  here.  Remember  the  end  C  passes  downward  on 
the  side  towards  you,  and  upward  on  the  side  away  from 
you.  Hold  the  cane,  as  soon  as  you  nip  the  coils  with 
your  left  thumb,  so  that  hand  points  to  the  right,  and 
the  first  and  second  fingers  are  free.  Throw  the  large 
loop  over  those  fingers  to  keep  it  open.  Then  make 
three  or  four  turns  of  the  end  (7,  between  the  point 
where  the  large  loop  meets  the  cane,  a,  and  the  wind- 
ings you  wish  to  fasten,  h,  winding  towards  the  latter. 
You  will  find  this  operation  facilitated  by  throwing  the 
end  (7  at  every  turn,  after  making  the  large  loop,  be- 


206 


Fly-Tods  and  Fly-tackle, 


tween  the  first  and  second  fingers  of  the  left  hand, 
holding  it  thus  until  you  can  reach  over  the  cane  with 
the  right  hand,  and  draw  the  end  C  through  the  loop. 
Now  pass  the  end  G  to  the  left,  under  the  left  thumb, 
and  hold  it  down  on  the  windings  already  made,  h ; 
then  hook  your  right  first  finger  in  the  large  loop,  and 
putting  a  strain  on  it,  revolve  the  cane  and  proceed  with 
the  winding  as  at  first.  You  will  thus  wind  on  as  many 
turns  over  the  end  C  as  you  made  between  a  and  ft, 
and  in  close  contact  with  those  you  wish  to  fasten.  For 
every  wind  you  so  add  you  will,  if  you  have  followed 
the  directions  carefully  and  correctly,  see  one  of  those 
between  a  and  h  unwind,  and  will  at  length  have  the 
result  shown,  thus : 


Pig.  74. 


Now  seize  the  end  (7,  and  draw  up  the  slack  of  the 
large  loop  until  it  lies  in  close  contact  with  the  windings 
you  are  fastening.  Cut  off  the  end  as  close  as  you  can, 
and  it  is  done.  Repeat  this  until  firmly  fixed  in  your 
mind,  and  you  have  made  an  acquisition  that  will  many 
times  repay  the  trouble. 

Now  let  us  apply  this  lesson,  taking  at  the  same  time 
another  step  forward. 


Repairs.  297 

Scene. — Trout- stream. 

ANGLER,  meeting  a  very  melancholy-looking  individual  with  the  frag- 
ments  of  a  trout-rod  in  his  hands;  Novice,  equipped  for  fishing,  hut 
with  a  broken  rod.     Time,  8  a.m. 

Anglek.  Good-morning,  sir ;  what  luck  ? 

Novice.  The  trout  are  rising  fairly  well;  I  have  caught 
a  few  nice  ones.  But  I  have  just  had  the  misfortune  to 
break  my  middle  joint  about  a  foot  below  the  smaller 
end.  I  have  come  a  long  distance  to  enjoy  a  couple  of 
days'  fishing,  and  my  opportunities  are  few ;  and  as  I 
have  no  spare  piece  to  take  its  place,  I  am  afraid  my  fish- 
ing is  at  an  end  unless  I  take  to  bait,  and  for  that  I  have 
little  taste.  So  I  suppose  I  may  say  I  have  had  poor 
luck. 

Angler.  How  did  it  happen  ? 

Novice.  It  may  be  I  was  using  too  long  a  line  for  the 
distance  I  wished  to  cover.  I  saw  a  nice-looking  spot, 
and  when  I  cast,  my  flies  reached  the  water  considerably 
beyond  it.  Instead  of  shortening  my  line,  I  undertook 
to  draw  my  flies  across  the  spot ;  and  when  my  rod  was 
nearly  upright,  a  nice  fish  struck  my  drop-fly,  and  you 
see  the  result.  I  am  but  a  beginner,  having  fished  with 
the  fly  but  a  few  times  before,  and  am  self-taught ;  I 
suppose  I  must  expect  to  make  mistakes,  but  it  is  none 
the  less  provoking  to  lose  all  the  sport  which  I  had  an- 
ticipated with  so  much  pleasure. 

Angler.  Many  a  good  rod  is  broken  in  that  way. 
Let  me  see  the  break.  Why,  this  is  not  so  bad.  Why 
don't  you  splice  it  ? 

Novice.  I  don't  know  how. 

Angler.  Have  you  silk,  wax,  and  a  file  in  your  fly- 
book? 


298  FVy^ods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

Novice.  No,  I  have  nothing  of  the  kind,  I  am  sorry 
to  say. 

Angler.  It  will  make  no  difference,  for  I  have  them. 
And  since  you  say  you  are  a  beginner,  I  will  repair  this 
accident  for  you,  and  at  the  same  time  give  you  a  few 
hints  which  may  be  of  value  in  the  future. 

Novice.  I  shall  be  very  much  obliged  if  you  will  be 
so  kind. 

Angler.  It  is,  or  should  always  be,  a  pleasure  for  one 
angler  to  help  another ;  so  look  and  listen,  and  if  there 
is  anything  you  do  not  understand  stop  me  at  once.  But 
first  I  would  say,  never  go  on  a  stream  again  without 
plenty  of  silk,  of  the  sizes  known  in  the  stores  as  A 
or  By  in  your  fly-book,  together  with  a  little  cobbler's 
wax  flattened  out  between  the  folds  of  a  piece  of  an 
old  kid-glove.  A  quantity  of  wax  which,  if  spherical, 
would  measure  half  an  inch  in  diameter  is  about  the 
thing.  Also  you  should  have  a  flat  file  of  rather  coarse 
cut,  and  with  the  blade  from  five  to  six  inches  long  and 
from  one -half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  wide,  like 
this.  You  see  the  tang  is  broken  off  the  file,  and  thus 
shortened  I  can  carry  it  in  my  fly-book,  and  never  know 
it  is  there  till  I  need  it  for  use. 

Now  see  ;  I  take  my  pocket-knife,  and  cut  a  long  slope 
on  each  of  the  broken  ends,  being  careful  to  make  them 
incline  in  different  ways,  and  of  such  slope  that  when 
they  are  laid  together  the  rod  will  not  be  larger  than 
before.  I  also  see  to  it  that  the  splice  is  so  situated,  that 
the  rings  on  the  two  pieces  will  be  in  line  when  they 
are  united.  There,  I  have  finished  cutting,  and  you  see 
when  I  place  the  pieces  together  the  rings  are  in  line ; 
but  you  also  notice  that  the  joint  is  not  a  very  good  fit. 
Now  we  will  resort  to  the  file.    You  notice  that  I  lay 


Repai/rs,  299 

the  file  down  and  place  the  splice  upon  it ;  and  while 
rubbing  the  joint  to  and  fro  on  the  file,  I  press  the 
wood  down  upon  it  with  the  fingers  of  my  left  hand. 
From  time  to  time  I  look  at  the  splice,  and  see  how  the 
filing  progresses. 


Fig.  75.— -4  B,  portions  of  broken  joint;  C,  splice. 

The  file  will  cut  most  rapidly  where  the  pressure  is 
greatest,  so  that  by  varying  the  pressure  with  a  little 
judgment,  the  splice  is  soon  made  perfectly  true,  as  I 
have  done  this.  Now  we  will  finish  the  other  ;  so,  there 
they  are  complete.  Now  place  them  together  and  see 
what  you  think  of  it. 

Novice.  They  fit  perfectly.  The  rod  is  not  enlarged 
and  the  rings  are  in  line.  I  am  astonished  that  it  could 
be  done  in  so  short  a  time,  and  by  means  so  simple.  I 
really  believe  I  could  do  it  myself.* 

Angler.  Without  the  slightest  doubt.  In  mechanics 
as  in  life,  skill  consists  in  adapting  your  means  to  your 
end ;  the  desired  result  then  almost  necessarily  follows. 
You  see  that  when  I  rubbed  the  splice  on  the  file  only 
the  high  places  touched.  Of  course  these  were  soon  cut 
away,  and  the  surface  became  even  of  itself,  so  to  speak. 

Now  we  have  to  unite  the  splice,  and  you  will  then  be 

*  If  the  means  or  the  skill  to  make  a  perfect  fit  are  wanting,  the  splice 
should  be  so  made  that  the  joint  is  there  enlarged ;  otherwise  it  may 
be  *'  soft"  at  the  splice — i.e.,  inferior  to  the  neighboring  parts  of  the  rod 
in  stififness — when  it  will  almost  certainly  give  way  again.  Subsequent- 
ly, and  under  more  favorable  circumstances,  the  splice  can  be  taken 
apart,  properly  fitted,  and  permanently  repaired  with  glue. 


300  Fly^oda  amd  Fly-tackle. 

ready  to  continue  your  sport.  If  this  was  in  the  even- 
ing I  should  melt  some  fresh  glue — fish-glue  (or  isin- 
glass as  it  is  sometimes  called)  if  it  could  be  had.  Hav- 
ing completely  melted  some  of  this  in  sufficient  water, 
so  that  it  felt  between  the  thumb  and  finger  as  if  it  had 
considerable,  but  not  too  much  body,  I  should  apply  it 
to  each  surface,  bring  them  together,  wrap  them  tightly 
with  a  dry  string,  then  wet  the  string  with  warm  water 
to  swell  it  and  make  it  still  tighter,  and  set  it  away  till 
morning.  Then  you  would  hardly  have  been  able  to 
find  where  the  wood  was  joined  together. 

Novice.  I  have  tried  to  use  glue,  but  could  never 
make  it  stick  any  to  speak  of. 

Angler.  Considerable  art,  or,  I  should  say,  a  little 
knowledge  is  required  to  use  glue  successfully.  In  the 
first  place,  where  all  possible  strength  is  required,  as  in 
fishing-rods,  the  glue  used  should  be  perfectly  fresh.  By 
that  I  mean  glue  that  has  never  been  melted  before.  It 
should  by  no  means  be  too  thick,  since  then  it  rapidly 
gelatinizes,  and  in  this  condition  it  has  no  adhesive  pow- 
er. The  best  test  is  to  try  a  drop  between  the  finger 
and  thumb  ;  if  it  feels  slightly  unctious,  it  is  thick 
enough.  Then  warm  the  surfaces  to  be  united,  apply 
the  glue,  and  tie  them  together  as  described,  and  you 
will  have  no  difficulty.  Fish-glue  is  to  be  preferred,  par- 
ticularly that  known  as  "  Russian  isinglass,"  since  it  has 
more  strength  in  the  first  place,  and  that  strength  is  not 
so  apt  to  become  impaired  by  time  ;  but  it  must  be  han- 
dled promptly  since  it  soon  jellies,  in  which  condition  it 
will  not  stick  at  all.  Some  advocate  adding  a  drop  or 
J  two  of  nitric  acid  to  the  melted  glue,  or  melting  the 
^  glue  in  vinegar,  either  of  which  will  destroy  this  gelati- 
■L  nizing  propert^'so  you  can  take  your  time  in  uniting  the 


Repairs,  801 

gments ;  and  they  insist  that  this  does  not  impair 
e  strength  of  the  glue.  While  this  seems  to  be  true, 
these  liquid  glues  have  one  very  serious  defect  not  to  be 
overlooked,  the  more  particularly  since  they  may  now 
be  bought  at  almost  any  hardware-shop,  and  their  al- 
ways-ready character  makes  them  so  convenient  to  use. 
They,  one  and  all,  as  far  as  I  have  ever  seen,  are  prone 
to  absorb  moisture  if  given  the  opportunity,  and  so  loose 
their  grip.  Good,  ordinary  glue,  well  applied  in  the  ordi- 
nary way,  will  resist  unimpaired  many  times  an  exposure 
fatal  to  the  liquid  glues.  They  are,  therefore,  in  my 
judgment,  unfit  for  rod-work.  Some  prefer  to  melt  it  in 
skimmed  milk,  since  glue  so  prepared  is  insoluble  in  wa- 
ter after  it  dries.  Some,  again,  soften  the  glue  by  soak- 
ing it  over-night  in  cold  water.  The  next  day  it  will 
resemble  a  stiff  jelly,  though  retaining  its  original  form. 
These  pieces  are  then  dried  with  a  cloth,  and  melted  in 
boiled  linseed-oil,  and  thus  another  waterproof  glue  can 
be  made.  This  last  is,  however,  a  tedious  drier.  But  I 
have  always  feared  to  try  these  when  anything  depended 
on  the  result,  and  so  cannot  speak  of  their  respective 
merits  from  my  own  knowledge.  One  thing,  however,  I 
do  know,  that  if  your  joints  fit  and  are  tightly  brought 
together,  so  as  to  squeeze  out  all  the  glue  possible,  it 
will,  even  with  ordinary  glue,  take  hours  of  soaking  in 
water,  and  the  subsequent  application  of  considerable 
and  continued  heat,  before  they  can  be  separated. 

But  this  repair  must  be  made  on  the  spur  of  the  mo- 
ment, so  gluing  is  out  of  the  question.  You  see  I  warm 
the  splices  and  my  cobbler's  wax,  and  coat  both  the  for- 
mer with  the  latter.  I  now  place  them  together  in  the 
position  in  which  they  are  to  remain,  squeeze  them  tight- 
ly together  so  the  layers  of  wax  between  will  coalesce, 


303  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

and  hold  them  in  that  position  a  moment  for  the  wax  to 
stiffen  a  little.  I  now  wind  this  string  around  them  for 
about  half  their  length  to  hold  them  in  position,  and  they 
are  ready  to  wrap  with  silk.  Having  waxed  my  silk  well 
with  the  cobbler's  wax,  I  wind  it  on,  as  you  see,  as  tight- 
ly as  the  strength  of  the  silk  will  well  bear,  being  care- 
ful that  each  turn  shall  lie  close  beside  its  predecessor. 
I  have  wound  up  to  the  string,  which  may  now  be  re- 
moved since  the  wrappings  already  on  will  steady  the 
splice  ;  and  now  I  have  wrapped  the  splice  its  whole 
length,  and  it  only  remains  to  fasten  the  winding,  and 
we  are  through.  Watch  me  closely.  You  will  notice 
I  cut  the  silk  so  I  have  about  a  foot  of  end.  I  hold 
the  windings  already  made  in  place  with  my  left  thumb, 
pass  the  end  of  the  silk  downward  between  me  and  the 
rod,  under  it,  upward  on  the  other  side,  and  then  over 
the  rod.  Thus  I  make  a  large  open  loop,  within  which  I 
take  three  or  four  turns  of  the  end  around  the  rod,  and 
running  towards  the  completed  winding  that  I  am  hold- 
ing with  my  left  thumb.  To  these  two  points  I  wish 
particularly  to  call  your  attention,  since  if  you  make  no 
mistake  here  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  mastering 
this  knot.  I  then  finish  thus,  and  cut  off  the  end  as  close 
as  I  can.  You  see  it  requires  close  inspection  to  discover 
how  the  silk  is  fastened,  so  neat  is  the  finish.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  acquisitions  an  angler  can 
make,  for  without  this  knot  I  could  not  have  securely 
repaired  your  rod.  As  soon  as  you  conveniently  can, 
cover  the  winding  with  two  or  three  coats  of  shellac,  or 
better  still  some  oil  varnish,  if  you  can  wait  for  it  to  dry, 
and  your  rod  will,  if  you  meet  with  no  further  accident, 
last  for  years.  Nx)W  put  it  together  and  try  it.  How 
does  it  feel  ? 


Repairs,  303 

Novice.  It  seems  a  little  stiffer,  and  lighter  in  the 
hand  than  before. 

Anglek.  Both  necessarily  follow  from  shortening  the 
rod,  which  of  course  cannot  be  avoided  in  making  a 
splice.  But  I  notice  a  ring  is  missing  from  your  rod. 
Bring  it  to  me  this  evening  at  the  farm-house  where  I 
am  lodging  and  I  will  replace  it. 

Novice.  I  am  a  thousand  times  obliged  to  you  for 
your  kindness. 

Angler.  Not  at  "all.  Only  remember  never  to  go  fish- 
ing again  without  silk,  wax,  a  knife,  and  a  file ;  for  with 
these  you  can  repair  on  the  spot  most  of  the  accidents 
to  which  an  angler  is  liable,  while  without  them  you  will 
be  helplessly  crippled.     Good-day,  and  good-luck. 


Time,  evening  ;  same  parties. 

Novice.  Good-evening.  You  see  I  have  brought  my 
rod  as  you  suggested. 

Angler.  You  have  done  well.  What  luck  did  you 
have  after  we  parted  this  morning? 

Novice.  Oh,  not  so  bad.  But  it  is  not  essential  to 
my  enjoyment  of  stream  fishing  that  I  take  a  trout  every 
five  minutes.  The  cool  fragrant  air,  the  music  of  the 
running  water,  and  the  beauties  of  the  trees  and  flowers 
which  shade  and  grace  the  stream — these,  together  with 
the  constant  endeavor  to  improve  my  cast,  and  the  sense 
that  my  efforts  were  not  in  vain,  made  the  day  one  con- 
stant pleasure,  though  I  caught  but  few  fish  and  those 
not  large. 

Angler.  You  have  the  true  angler's  spirit,  and  this 
makes  it  a  double  pleasure  to  assist  and  instruct  you. 

Novice.  While  you  are  finishing  your  cigar,  and  be- 


304  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

fore  we  enter  on  new  ground,  I  should  like  to  ask  you 
one  or  two  questions  about  mending  broken  rods.  How 
long  should  the  splice  be  by  which  the  fragments  are 
united?  For  it  seems  to  me  that  a  short  splice  can 
hardly  stand  the  strain  inseparable  from  use ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  an  excessive  length  unnecessarily  short- 
ens the  rod. 

Angler.  The  question  is  very  pertinent.  The  length 
of  the  splice  should  be  at  least  twelve  times  the  diam- 
eter of  the  joint  at  the  break,  perhaps  even  a  little  more 
if  the  rod  is  very  dense  in  the  grain.  It  is  well  in  such 
case  to  roughen  the  surfaces  you  propose  to  unite,  or  to 
score  them  obliquely  and  in  a  criss-cross  manner,  thus: 


Pig.  76.— J,  joint;  B,  splice,  ecored. 

But  these  scores  should  be  very  oblique  and  very  shallow, 
or  you  may  divide  and  so  lose  the  strength  of  some  of  the 
fibres.  The  purpose  is  to  give  a  better  hold  to  whatever 
adhesive  substance  you  use  to  unite  the  parts. 

Novice.  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  method  you 
showed  me  this  morning  is  not  applicable  to  a  break 
close  to  a  ferrule,  for  there  is  then  nothing  to  form  one 
part  of  the  splice  from.  What  course  should  then  be 
followed  ? 

Angler.  This  is  either  one  of  the  most  difficult,  or  one 
of  the  simplest  of  emergent  repairs,  according  to  the 
construction  of  the  rod.  If  the  rod  is  united  by  simple 
ferrules  without  dowels,  and  if  the  ferrules  are  merely 
cemented  in  place  instead  of  fastened  by  a  pin,  then  the 
repair  is  a  trifling  matter.     And  after  balancing  all  I 


Repairs.  305 

have  heard  or  can  imagine  on  all  sides  of  the  question,  I 
cannot  but  think  that  both  the  dowel  and  the  fastening 
pin  should  be  excluded  from  fly-rods.  I  have  been  driven 
to  this  conclusion  not  merely  because  of  difficulty  of  re- 
pair, but  by  other  considerations  of  equal  or  even  greater 
force,  into  the  discussion  of  which  we  will  not  enter  now. 

When  the  rod  gives  away  at  the  ferrule,  the  break  is 
always  short  across.  If  you  have  no  dowels  to  consider, 
trim  the  broken  end  square  with  your  knife,  warm  the 
ferrule  and  push  out  the  broken  portion,  and  replace  the 
ferrule  on  the  joint,  using  some  of  your  cobbler's  wax  to 
cement  it  in  place.  But  if  your  rod  has  dowelled  ferrules 
— by  which  I  mean  those  in  which  the  upper  ferrule  is  pro- 
vided with  a  tenon  to  enter  and  fit  a  hole  in  the  joint  below 
— then,  if  your  rod  is  a  fine  one,  you  are  indeed  in  trouble. 
Let  us  assume  the  break  is  above  the  "  male,"  or  entering 
ferrule.  You  have  now  the  accident  in  its  least  embar- 
rassing form.  For  if  you  have  means  at  hand  to  drive 
out  the  fastening  pin,  you  can  burn  out  the  broken  piece, 
and  proceed  as  before.  The  construction  of  a  new  dowel 
from  the  body  of  the  joint  itself  should  never  be  at- 
tempted, since,  aside  from  the  difficulty  of  making  it  per- 
fectly central  and  a  good  fit,  it  shortens  the  rod  to  a 
degree  not  to  be  thought  of,  except  in  case  of  absolute 
necessity.  The  maker  will,  on  your  return  home,  insert 
a  new  piece,  and  the  loss  will  be  only  equal  to  the  length 
of  your  ferrule. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  break  is  below  the  female,  or 
outside  ferrule,  the  accident  is  more  serious.  Assuming 
you  have  cleared  the  ferrule  of  the  broken  portion,  and 
can  replace  it  as  before,  how  are  you  to  bore  the  hole  to 
receive  and  fit  the  dowel  ?  This  clearly  requires  a  spe- 
cial tool  not  readily  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  most 
20 


306  Fly-Tods  and  Fly-tachle. 

trout  streams.  The  only  practical  recourse  is,  then,  to 
cut  off  the  dowel  from  the  male  ferrule,  replace  the  fe- 
male ferrule  as  before,  and  use  your  rod  without  the 
dowel,  until  you  can  put  it  in  the  maker's  hands. 

If  the  dowel  seems  part  of  the  metal  of  the  male  fer- 
rule, as  is  generally  the  case  in  fine  rods,  you  must  file 
or  saw  it  off  only  as  a  very  last  resort.  It  is  usually 
only  united  to  the  ferrule  by  soft  solder,  and  if  you  heat 
it  well  you  can  unsolder  and  remove  it  without  injury. 

Some  rods,  however,  are  mounted  with  ferrules  the 
bore  of  which  is  smaller  at  the  mouth  than  within.  In 
such  the  dowel  is  absolutely  indispensable,  since  it  alone 
steadies  the  end  of  the  entering  joint  and  prevents  it 
from  shaking.  I  cannot  but  think  this  a  vicious  con- 
struction, if  for  no  other  reason,  because  it  offers  not  the 
slightest  advantage  over  the  cylindrical  ferrule,  while  a 
break  of  the  kind  under  consideration  at  once  disables 
the  rod  beyond  immediate  repair. 

Novice.  One  other  question  :  bamboo  is  so  dense  and 
flinty  that  I  should  think  it  difiScult  successfully  to  mend 
such  a  rod  by  splicing.     Am  I  correct  in  this  ? 

Angler.  Partly  so.  Tips  may  be  repaired  without 
difficulty,  and  a  break  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  second 
joint  is  not  hopeless.  But  I  have  never  been  able  to 
make  a  splice  stand  in  the  lower  half  of  such  a  rod,  though 
I  have  tried  repeatedly.  The  splices  must  then  be  made 
extra  long,  and  well  scored;  and  with  this  the  user  must 
rest  content  until  he  can  replace  the  broken  joint  by  a 
new  one.  His  rod  will  then  hang  together  and  can  be 
fished  with,  but  he  will  find  its  action  so  impaired  that 
its  use  will  give  little  pleasure.  Does  any  other  question 
occur  to  you?        \_^^ 

Novice.  No,  I  think  of  nothing  more. 


Bepairs.  307 

Angler.  Then  let  us  replace  that  ring  on  your  rod. 
But  I  see  you  have  lost  the  end  ring  from  your  tip  aa 
well. 

Novice.  Oh,  never  mind  that ;  I  have  another  one. 

Angler.  We  may  just  as  well  do  both,  and  then  at 
some  future  time  you  will  be  able  to  aid  or  instruct  some 
brother  angler  in  both  of  these  particulars. 

If  we  had  some  spare  rings,  or  even  some  small  copper 
or  brass  wire,  it  would  help  matters ;  but  as  neither  of 
these  is  at  hand  we  must  resort  to  pins  for  our  material. 
You  see  I  insert  the  points  of  these  pins  in  a  stick,  and 
heat  them  red  hot  in  this  lamp,  for  a  pin  as  it  comes 
from  the  manufacturer  is  too  stiff  for  our  purpose.  Now 
that  the  points  are  cool,  I  cut  off  the  heads  and  insert 
those  ends  in  the  stick,  and  repeat  the  process.  Now 
they  are  annealed,  and  we  can  proceed.  I  take  a  small 
round  stick — a  match  will  do — and  applying  it  to  the 
middle  of  the  pin,  bend  the  latter  around 
it,  thus  forming  a  loop.  A_ 

I  now  insert  the  loop  in  a  crack  in  the  Fig. 77—^4, body oF 
floor  or  in  a  cleft  stick  to  serve  as  a  vise  P;"iid*dKf^tu* 
(since  we  have  neither  the  latter  nor  a     ^.^^^  d,  ends  of 

.  pin. 

pair  of  pincers),  and  twist  the  ends  of  the 
pin  around  till  they  are  at  a  right  angle  with  their  for- 
mer position.     We  now  have,  in  effect,  a  straight  wire 
provided  with  a  loop  at  a  right  angle  to 

^      Cli  its   middle.     I  then  file  the  two   ends. 

Pig.  78.  -  A,  body  *^P   ^^^   bottom,  tapering   them   grad- 

of   pin,  showing  ually  awav  from  the   loop  to   a   sharp 

sharpened     ends;       j-i  .  -xt  -j 

fi,  loop.  edge  at  each   extremity.     I  now  wind 

this  on  with  waxed  silk  in  its  proper 
place,  and  it  is  finished. 

Novice.  I  am  very  much  obliged  ;  but  had  I  not  been 


308  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

so  anxious  to  learn  this,  I  should  not  have  permitted  you 
to  trouble  yourself  over  so  trifling  a  matter. 

Angler.  You  must  not  think  so.  A  rod  should  be 
provided  with  plenty  of  rings,  since  they  equalize  and 
distribute  the  strain  over  the  whole  length  of  the  rod. 
Thus  while  its  aggregate  may  be  great,  it  will  at  no  one 
place  reach  the  breaking-point.  And  while  I  would  not 
recommend  you  to  suspend  fishing  at  a  favorable  mo- 
ment, merely  because  a  single  ring  became  detached, 
still  you  should  replace  it  before  the  next  day. 

Now  let  us  put  a  new  end  on  your  tip.  I  bend  the 
second  pin  around  the  match  as  before.  I  then  thin 
the  ends  in  the  same  manner,  omitting,  you  notice,  to 
twist  the  loop.     I  now  bring  the  ends  together,  thus, 

B  — _^ 


Pig.  79. 

in  the  form  of  a  tuning-fork,  give  a  slightly  wedge-shape 
to  the  end  of  the  tip,  insert  it  in  the  fork  of  the  tip  end, 
and  wind  it  on  with  silk.  It  will  not  be  amiss  to  give 
the  loop  a  bend  towards  the  ring  side  of  the  tip,  since 
then  the  line  will  render  better. 

Novice.  But  I  notice  that  in  this  case  you  did  not 
make  your  "invisible  knot"  in  the  way  you  showed  me. 
This  seems  much  simpler. 

Angler.  The  principle  is  exactly  the  same.  In  the 
case  to  which  you  allude  it  was  tied  in  the  middle  of  a 
joint,  and  under  such  conditions  it  must  be  made  in  the 
way  shown  you.  But  here  there  is  no  long  piece  extend- 
ing beyond  where  the  knot  is  to  be,  and  we  can  take  ad- 
vantage of  this  circumstance.  I  will  repeat  the  knot 
for  your  benefit.     Having  wound  as  far  as  we  wish,  I 


Repairs.  309 

make  the  loop,  (7,  holding  the  windings  already  made 
firmly  with  my  left  thumb,  exactly  as  before.  Having 
first  cut  off  the  silk  so  as  to  leave  me  about  a  foot  of 


Pig.  80. 

end,  A^  I  place  this  end  upon  the  windings,  and  hold  it 
there  ;  I  then  proceed  to  wind  over  it,  -4,  exactly  as  if 
it  were  not  there,  and  as  though  I  were  merely  extend- 
ing my  winding  ;  and  this  to  the  extent  of  four  turns  or 
so.  If  in  so  doing  the  silk  has  fouled  the  ring,  2),  I 
clear  it ;  and  you  see  I  have  the  end,  A^  projecting 
towards  the  left  and  fastened  by  some  turns  of  silk  over 
it,  and  a  loop,  C,  on  the  right.  Now  when  I  pull  on 
the  end,  A^  the  loop,  C,  diminishes  in  size,  until  it  dis- 
appears altogether,  and  the  fastening  is  complete.  This 
knot  is  the  one  with  which  the  heads  of  flies  are  finished. 

Novice.  You  seem  so  willing  to  give  information 
that  I  shouli^  like  to  ask  you  a  few  more  questions. 
This  evening  I  could  hardly  get  my  rod  apart,  the  fer- 
rules stuck  so  tightly  ;  yet  they  went  together  easily 
enough  in  the  morning.     Is  there  a  remedy  for  this  ? 

Angler.  Yes,  and  a  most  simple  one.  If  you  will 
tallow  or  oil  your  ferrules,  and  then  wipe  them  dry  be- 
fore you  joint  your  rod,  you  will  never  be  troubled  that 
way  ;  and  this  should  be  repeated  every  third  or  fourth 
day,  if  the  rod  is  left  together  so  long.  But  if  you  have 
neglected  this  precaution,  and  the  ferrules  stick  fast,  do 


810  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

not  call  a  friend  and  go  at  the  joints  as  though  you 
were  wringing  clothes ;  but  warm  the  obstinate  ferrule 
over  a  lamp  chimney,  and  it  will  easily  separate.  You 
must  remember  that  the  object  is  to  expand  the  outer 
before  the  heat  reaches  the  inner  ferrule  ;  and  to  do  this 
the  heat  must  be  applied  but  for  a  few  seconds,  turning 
the  ferrule  constantly  so  that  all  parts  may  receive  their 
due  proportion,  and  then  try  to  separate  it.  If  it  re- 
fuses, repeat  the  operation  until  it  consents. 

Heat,  properly  and  continuously  applied,  is  extremely 
efficacious  when  opposed  to  obstinacy  of  any  form — a 
principle  well  known  even  prior  to  the  Middle  Ages, 
though  its  highest  development  was  then  reached.  If, 
however,  the  angler  seizes  one  joint  and  his  friend  the 
other,  a  sudden  and  powerful  jerk  will  often  separate 
ferrules,  which  have  obstinately  resisted  both  torsion  and 
a  steady  pull. 

Novice.  Here  is  a  fly,  the  only  one  of  the  kind  I 
have.  The  trout  seemed  to  have  a  decided  preference 
for  this  to-day,  but  the  gut  is  so  frayed  I  fear  to  use 
it  to-morrow.     Can  it  be  repaired  ? 

Angler.  Yes ;  it  will  not  look  very  well,  but  it  may 
be  used.  Let  me  see  the  fly.  Have  you  a  spare  piece 
of  gut,  or  if  not,  a  spare  leader,  from  which  we  can  cut 
a  foot  or  so  ? 

Novice.  Here  is  a  leader. 

Angler.  First  we  will  soak  it  in  tepid  water  till  it  is 
soft ;  then  saving  the  looped  end  intact,  we  tie  a  hard 
knot  in  the  other  end  to  prevent  its  slipping ;  then  we 
wrap  it  above  the  knot  with  well  waxed  silk  on  to  the 
upper  side  of  the  hook,  just  below  the  body,  and  over 
the  tail ;  then  part  the  wings  with  a  pin,  and  lay  the 
gut  in  the  division  and  upon  the  upper  side  of  the  body. 


Bejpairs,  811 

and  fasten  it  again  with  silk  over  the  wing  fastening. 
Now  we  catch  the  hook  in  or  around  anything  that  will 
hold,  take  a  good  pull  on  the  gut  to  be  sure  it  will  stand, 
and  it  is  complete. 

Novice.  Are  there  any  other  accidents  likely  to  hap- 
pen to  the  angler  which  you  have  not  mentioned,  and 
which  admit  of  repair  ? 

Angler.  "We  have  certainly  covered  almost  all — and 
I  can  think  of  no  others.  You  see  the  "invisible  knot" 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  these  repairs,  so  be  sure  to 
perfect  yourself  in  it. 

It  sometimes  occurs  that  an  angler  buys  a  new  rod, 
or  a  new  reel,  and  finds  the  one  will  not  fit  the  other; 
but  he  can  tie  the  reel  to  his  rod  with  a  string,  or  better 
still  a  leather  thong,  and  it  will  work  just  as  well. 

It  may  happen  that  he  frays  his  line  on  a  sharp  stone 
or  otherwise,  so  that  he  thinks  it  no  longer  safe.  In  this 
case,  if  unprovided  with  a  spare  line,  he  may  cut  out 
the  doubtful  part,  melt  his  wax,  or  at  least  make  it  quite 
soft  so  that  it  will  penetrate  well  into  the  line,  coat 
about  an  inch  of  each  end  well  with  the  wax,  lap  and 
squeeze,  and  sew  them  together  with  a  fine  needle,  and 
then  wrap  tightly  with  well  waxed  silk,  and  thus  remedy 
the  defect.  If  it  is  an  enamelled  waterproof  line,  the 
ends  may  be  scarfed  a  little  with  the  file  to  roughen 
them,  and  give  the  wax  a  better  hold.  This  splice,  if 
neatly  made,  will  render  through  the  rings  very  well,  but 
a  test  strain  of  at  least  six  pounds  should  be  applied  be- 
fore using  it ;  for  if  it  will  not  hold  it  is  better  to  know 
it,  and  repeat  the  operation. 

He  may  forget  or  lose  his  landing-net.  In  stream- 
fishing  he  can  then  land  his  fish  on  the  bank,  if  it  is 
sloping,  or  if  not,  slide  his  hand  down  the  leader  and 


313  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

grasp  the  fish  by  the  gills.  In  either  case  he  should 
play  his  fish  until  quite  exhausted.  Then  throwing  his 
rod  behind  him  and  over  his  shoulder,  grasp  the  leader 
with  his  left  hand,  carry  the  part  seized  to  his  right 
hand  which  holds  the  rod,  there  take  it  between  his 
thumb  and  finger,  holding  it  so  he  can  at  once  let  go  if 
the  fish  shows  signs  of  activity,  and  repeat  this  until  the 
fish  is  quite  close.  But  during  this  delicate  operation 
there  must  not  be  the  slightest  approximation  to  a  jerk  ; 
everything  must  proceed  quietly  and  by  an  even,  steady 
motion.  He  can  then  slide  his  hand  down  the  leader 
and  grasp  the  trout,  in  which  he  will  be  much  aided  by 
a  thread-glove  with  the  fingers  cut  off  ;  or  he  can  lead 
the  fish  towards  the  bank,  and  by  a  sudden  but  steady 
increase  of  force  throw  him  out. 

Any  effort  to  lift  or  throw  the  trout  out  by  the  rod  will 
probably  be  followed  by  disaster.  Not  that  the  rod  will 
break,  but  the  weight  of  the  fish  in  air  so  exceeds  that 
in  water,  that  the  impulse  given  will  carry  it  but  a  short 
distance  on  the  shore;  and  when  it  strikes  the  ground  it 
unhooks  itself  with  the  first  flop,  while  the  angler  per- 
forms like  a  cat  on  a  stove  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  kick 
it  higher  up  on  the  bank.  I  have  seen,  nay,  I  have  my- 
self, lost  many  good  fish  in  this  way. 

If  he  is  to  fish  from  a  boat,  and  no  landing-net  can  be 
borrowed,  let  him  make  a  gaff  out  of  a  piece  of  telegraph 
or  other  stiff  wire,  or  tie  three  or  four  hooks,  the  largest 
that  can  be  had,  on  a  stick,  and  use  that  for  the  same 
purpose. 

Occasionally  the  screws  of  a  reel  show  a  tendency  to 
work  loose,  caused  by  the  jar  of  the  click  and  indifferent 
fitting.  The  remedy  is  simple  :  withdraw  the  screw,  and 
insert  a  waxed  thread  to  the  bottom  of  its  hole ;  enter 


Repairs.  813 

the  screw  beside  the  thread,  and  about  three-quarters 
of  its  length  ;  then  cut  off  the  projecting  end  close,  and 
turn  the  screw  down  to  its  head. 

Broken  rods,  when  the  break  is  in  the  upper  half,  may 
be  temporarily  repaired  much  more  speedily  than  by 
the  method  I  showed  you,  though  not  so  well.  All 
that  is  necessary  is  a  piece  of  twine  and  a  rubber  band 
or  two — those  about  half  an  inch  wide  are  best — and  as 
long  as  possible.  Cut  the  rubber  band  so  as  to  form  a 
strap,  lap  one  part  of  the  break  over  the  other  without 
any  trimming,  wrap  the  rubber  band  around  the  lap, 
stretching  the  rubber  well  when  so  doing,  and  tie  its 
end  down  with  the  twine  so  that  it  cannot  unwind. 
The  lap  should  be  covered  with  at  least  a  double  layer 
of  well-stretched  rubber,  using  one  or  more  bands  as 
may  be  required. 

Breaks  in  the  upper  half  of  a  tip  may  be  very  nicely 
repaired  with  a  quill.  The  quill  is  to  be  soaked  in 
water,  preferably  warm,  until  quite  soft.  It  is  then  to 
be  split  lengthwise  on  one  side,  flattened  out,  and  one 
edge  trimmed  until  it  just  fits  when  wrapped  over  the 
break.  When  so  fitted  the  quill  is  to  be  wrapped  over 
the  break  and  tightly  wound  with  silk  its  whole  length. 
Then  it  is  allowed  to  dry  thoroughly  so  as  to  regain  its 
pristine  stiffness,  and  well  varnished. 

There,  I  think  1  have  covered  all  the  reparable  con- 
tingencies. 

There  is,  however,  one  other  suggestion  which  I  should 
like  to  submit  for  your  consideration  —  a  matter  more 
important,  in  my  judgment,  than  all  I  have  so  far  said 
to  you,  since,  while  they  are  matters  of  convenience,  this 
should  be  a  matter  of  principle. 

Never  permit  a  desire  to  catch  more  or  larger  fish 


314  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

than  a  comrade  influence  your  angling  conduct,  except 
it  be  to  put  forth  your  very  best  skill.  This  everlasting 
trying  to  beat  some  one  is  the  bane  of  angling.  I  have 
never,  in  a  somewhat  extended  fishing  experience,  seen 
the  spirit  of  competition  step  in,  but  that  at  the  same 
time  all  that  was  generous — all  that  was  best  in  the 
sport  of  angling — stepped  out. 

And  should  you  be  more  successful  than  others,  never 
show  the  slightest  sign  of  triumph,  but  give  your  suc- 
cess the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  and,  at  least  to  them,  at- 
tribute it  to  luck.  Though  skill  is  a  most  potent  factor 
in  fly-fishing,  luck  pure  and  simple  has  still  a  place 
therein. 

Some  years  ago  a  number  of  experienced  anglers 
hammered  away  by  the  hour  over  some  large  fish  at 
Rangely-Outlet,  with  never  a  rise.  A  lad  about  sixteen, 
who  had  never  cast  a  fly  before  that  day,  came  along 
with  his  guide  and  began  to  perform  after  the  manner 
of  the  beginner.  Discouraged,  at  length,  he  turned  to 
speak  to  his  guide,  allowing  his  fly  to  sink  idly  through 
the  water,  looked  back  just  in  time  to  see  it  taken  by  a 
trout,  struck,  fastened  it,  and  with  the  aid  of  his  guide 
landed  a  good  eight-pounder.  I  have  heard  fickle  Dame 
Fortune  railed  at  before  and  since,  but  never  with  more 
fervor  than  during  that  evening. 

On  the  other  hand,  be  not  too  severe  upon  yourself 
should  one  you  think  your  inferior  in  skill  meet  with 
better  success.  A  mediocre  angler  familiar  with  the 
water  will  not  infrequently,  for  a  time,  take  more  fish 
than  a  really  skilled  stranger. 

Novice.  One  last  question  I  would  like  to  ask.  Can 
you  suggest  a  metboS  to  repair  an  angler's  morals  after 
he  has  lost  a  large  fish  ? 


Repaira.  815 

Angler.  That  is  indeed  a  heavy  blow  ;  and  so  long  as 
human  nature  is  weak,  I  fear  that  under  such  affliction 
the  original  sin,  which  is  the  heritage  of  all,  will  come 
to  the  surface.  It  is  a  misfortune  not  only  of  the  mo- 
ment, but  in  the  future  as  well. 

In  September  of  1880  I  stood  on  the  boom  which  re- 
strains the  drift-trash  from  clogging  the  sluiceways  of 
the  lumber  dam  located  on  the  Magalloway  River,  about 
a  mile  below  Parmacheene  Lake,  in  Maine.  The  dam 
had  been  used  that  spring  for  the  first  time.  It  was  built 
to  aid  in  sluicing  the  logs  cut  in  the  surrounding  wilder- 
ness down  the  river  to  civilization,  and  was,  except  for  a 
couple  of  weeks  or  so  in  the  spring,  idle  and  apparently 
uncared  for.  The  deep  black  water  shoaled  as  it  ap- 
proached the  dam,  quickened  its  pace,  bent  downward 
like  oil,  and  then,  breaking  into  foam,  rushed  forty  feet 
through  the  sluices,  and  thundered  into  the  pool  below. 

I  stood  upon  the  logs  forming  the  boom,  and  cast  a 
large  single  fly — the  queen  of  those  waters,  the  "Parma- 
cheene Belle" — to  where,  about  thirty-six  feet  distant,  the 
current  just  began  to  gather  its  strength.  As  I  now  rec- 
ollect, some  four  or  five  fair  trout  had  rewarded  my  ef- 
forts, running  from  two  up  to  three  and  a  half  pounds. 
At  last  up  rolled  the  very  Monarch  of  the  River.  His 
swirl  was  like  the  eddy  made  by  an  eighteen-foot  oar. 
He  was  a  monster.  An  exclamation  from  my  guide,  a 
bound  of  my  heart  that  sent  the  blood  like  fire  to  every 
extremity  of  my  body,  greeted  the  rise.  I  struck  sharply 
of  course,  but  he  never  touched  the  fly,  and  it  came  back 
empty  handed.  With  sinking  hearts,  for  we  knew  from 
experience  that  such  fish  seldom  rise  the  second  time,  we 
changed  the  fly  to  another  as  different  in  color  as  possible, 
and  tried  again.     For  two  hours  or  more  we  rested  and 


316  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJde, 

fished  the  water  in  alternate  five-minute  intervals,  chang- 
ing and  rechanging  the  fly,  but  though  we  took  others 
which  would  elsewhere  be  accounted  large  fish,  yet  he, 
upon  whom  we  had  set  our  hearts,  was  proof  against 
temptation. 

I  have  caught  as  large,  perhaps  larger,  trout  since,  but 
never  in  such  a  location.  And  to  this  day,  and  as  long  as 
I  live  and  cast  a  fly,  the  loss  of  that  fish  will  be  a  sore 
spot  in  my  memory.  Even  now  while  I  write,  for  the 
thousandth  time  the  scene  in  every  detail  is  present  be- 
fore me,  and  I  wonder  could  I  have  played  him  his  half 
hour  in  the  water  above,  or  would  he,  despite  my  every 
effort,  have  shot  through  the  sluice  into  the  pool  below 
the  dam,  and  what  could  I  then  have  done  to  save  him  ? 

I  have  asked — I  will  ask — this  question  whenever  mem- 
ory recalls  the  picture,  but  its  solution,  alas!  I  shall  never 
know. 

Oh,  delusive  phantom  of  hope  !  How  wretched  would 
the  lot  of  us  poor  mortals  be  were  it  not  for  you  ! 

Men  who  fancy  they  could  remodel  tlie  scheme  of 
this  terrestrial  globe,  in  whole  or  in  part,  to  its  im- 
provement, are  perhaps  as  common  as  other  species  of 
"  cranks."  But  the  most  ignorant,  or,  what  amounts  to 
the  same  tiling,  the  most  cranky,  would  hardly  claim 
that  even  he  could  better  that  most  beneficent  factor  in 
the  happiness  of  mankind,  which  so  distorts  our  mental 
view  of  the  past  that  with  lapse  of  time  its  disappoint- 
ments and  discomforts  fade  from  memory,  while  the 
recollection  of  its  pleasures  becomes  purer  and  brighter 
with  the  passing  years.  It  is  not  the  real  thing  we 
anglers  see — that  mixture  of  pain  and  pleasure  of  which 
almost  every  incident  of  man's  life  on  this  earth  is  com- 
posed— when,  even  in  the  privacy  of  our  own  inner  con- 


Repairs.  317 

sciousness,  we  recall  our  angling  ventures  of  the  past. 
It  is  a  glorified  picture,  ripened,  like  a  generous  wine, 
by  the  sweet  influence  of  time. 

We  may  have  broiled  under  a  sun  of  tropical  fervor 
or  shivered  in  an  April  snow-storm  ;  we  may  have  been 
weary  and  footsore  almost  to  the  limit  of  endurance  ; 
suffered  from  hunger  and  thirst ;  been  devoured  by  flies 
and  mosquitoes  ;  have  slipped  from  rock  or  log  and  had 
the  icy  waters  close  over  our  noses  to  the  ruin  of  fly- 
book  and  watch.  We  may  have  been  mulcted  by  the 
farmers  of  the  vicinity  for  the  privilege  of  fishing  when 
morally  certain  that  the  demand  was  a  swindle  ;  we 
may  have  even  broken  our  favorite  rod  on  a  fingerling ; 
yet,  after  the  lapse  of  a  year  or  so,  all  these  annoyances 
are  as  if  they  had  never  been,  while  the  memory  of  just 
how  and  when  every  good  fish  was  taken  is  as  fresh 
as  though  of  yesterday. 


318  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 


CHAPTEB  IX, 

CASTING    THE    FLY. 

Every  book  on  angling  contains  directions  for  acquir- 
ing this  art,  almost  universally  prefaced  by  the  statement 
that  little  can  be  learned  from  them.  Without  calling  in 
question  the  advantage  of  practical  instruction  by  an  ex- 
pert, still  it  is  believed  no  little  progress  can  be  made  in 
its  absence. 

Assuming  the  possession  of  the  required  implements, 
the  next  essential  in  learning  to  cast  without  a  master  is 
companionship.  Thus  one  can  rest  and  encourage  the 
other,  and  each  observe  and  coach  his  friend  during  his 
innings  at  the  rod.  In  nothing  does  the  old  adage,  "  the 
outsider  sees  most  of  the  game,"  more  directly  apply. 
Unconscious  faults  are  instantly  noted  by  "  the  coach  " 
and  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  caster,  as  well  as  the 
greater  or  less  degree  of  success  which  may  attend  effort 
to  correct  these.  The  innings  should  not  exceed  five 
minutes  each,  for  they  should  be  made  a  pleasure  and 
not  a  toil.  No  very  appreciable  fatigue  should  be  in- 
curred, since  tired  muscles  respond  imperfectly  to  the 
will. 

Access  to  water  is  quite  unnecessary  —  I  question 
whether  it  is  even  desirable.  In  the  city,  the  house-roof 
may  be  the  practice-ground;  in  the  country,  any  grass- 
plot  or  a  snow-field.  Mark  your  stand,  and  measure  from 
it  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet.     There  place  a  folded 


Casting  the  Fly.  319 

newspaper,  retaining  it  in  position  by  stones  or  similar 
weights  placed  on  the  corners.  Let  this,  your  target,  be 
about  eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  square,  and  of  sev- 
eral thicknesses,  that  a  hit  may  at  once  be  distinguished 
from  a  miss  by  the  rustle  of  the  line  on  the  paper.  Use 
a  cheap  linen  line  for  practice,  E  in  size,  and  without 
leader  or  flies.  A  braided  line  is  to  be  preferred.  This 
will  perfectly  serve  the  purpose,  and  save  whipping  out 
the  more  expensive  water-proof  line  you  will  employ  in 
actual  fishing. 

To  acquire  a  proper  back  cast — throwing  the  line  be- 
hind preparatory  to  the  forward  cast — usually  gives  the 
beginner  the  most  trouble.  He  cannot  see  behind  him, 
and  though  he  fully  appreciates  that  his  forward  cast  is 
a  botch,  he  cannot  locate  the  difficulty,  and  knows  neither 
to  what  this  is  due  nor  how  it  is  to  be  overcome.  Here 
the  eyes  of  his  friend  supplement  those  of  the  caster. 
Each  effort  to  improve  is  appraised;  the  successful  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  unsuccessful  attempt — the  one  con- 
demned, the  other  approved — until  in  a  very  short  time 
and  with  very  little  trouble  a  habit  of  casting  is  formed 
which  is  not  only  efficient,  but  at  the  same  time  easy  and 
graceful. 

Therefore  I  say  again,  and  I  say  with  the  more  em- 
phasis because  I  believe  I  stand  alone  in  this  recommen- 
dation, practise  this  art  with  a  companion,  and  alternate- 
ly at  brief  intervals  let  each  coach  the  other.  Let  the 
coach  make  some  comment  on  every  cast  made,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, "  Your  back  cast  was  too  low,"  "  Your  line  did 
not  straighten  out  behind,"  "  Your  forward  cast  was  too 
quick,"  "  Keep  your  body  still,"  "  Keep  your  elbow  to 
your  side,"  "  There,  that  back  cast  was  all  right — try  to 
repeat  it,"  etc.,  etc.,  remembering  to  approve  the  good 


320  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

as  well  as  condemn  the  bad ;  for  the  very  object  in  view 
is  to  inform  the  caster  what  to  cultivate  as  well  as  what 
to  avoid. 

I  confidently  believe  that  two  persons  of  ordinary  clev- 
erness each  thus  aiding  the  other,  can,  in  two  weeks'  time, 
with  say  one  hour's  daily  practice,  learn  to  cast  a  very 
fair  fly  and  in  an  easy  and  graceful  manner.  If  a  really 
experienced  instructor  can  be  had,  all  the  better;  but  the 
supervision  of  a  self-taught  caster  of  limited  experience, 
who  insists  on  being  guided  solely  by  that  experience,  is 
to  be  avoided. 

The  coach  taking  his  stand  abreast  of  and  on  the  right 
of  the  caster,  and  at  such  a  distance  as  conveniently  to 
observe  every  motion,  let  the  latter  withdraw  from  the 
reel  line  equal  in  length  to  about  one  and  a  half  times 
the  length  of  his  rod.  The  thumb  of  the  casting  hand 
must  not  be  closed  up  on  its  fingers,  but  be  extended  and 
bear  upon  the  rod  itself.  Now  throw  the  tip  of  the  rod 
upward  and  behind  a  little,  but  only  a  little,  beyond  the 
perpendicular. 

The  illustration  on  the  preceding  page  (Fig.  81),  from 
a  photograph  from  life,  shows  the  extreme  limit  of  this 
movement,  a  limit  by  no  means  to  be  exceeded,  while  it 
may  well  be  somewhat  abridged. 

In  actual  fishing  the  casting  elbow  is  always  and  in- 
variably to  be  held  quite  close  to  the  side,  and  the  fore- 
arm should  not  be  raised  beyond  an  angle  of  forty-five 
degrees  with  the  horizon.  The  wrist,  however,  is  to  take 
a  further  bend  upward  and  as  far  as  possible,  for  from 
the  action  of  this  joint  should  the  impulse  of  the  cast  be 
almost  exclusively  derived. 

I  am  aware  that  I  am  at  variance  with  the  precepts  of 
many  writers,  as  well  as  with  the  practice  of  many  excel- 


Pig.  81. 


Casting  the  Fly,  323 

lent  anglers,  in  the  direction  that  the  elbow  be  invariably- 
close  to  the  side.  Some  cast  at  arm's-length,  and  largely 
with  the  shoulder-joint.  This  is  a  thoroughly  bad  meth- 
od, fatiguing,  inefficient,  and  rivalling  in  grace  a  duck  on 
land.  Others  cast  with  the  elbow  to  or  near  the  body, 
but  just  before  the  flies  light  extend  the  arm  to  its  full 


Pig.  82. 

length,  as  though  they  were  about  to  impale  something 
on  the  point  of  the  rod.  This  method  is  used  by  many 
anglers,  whom  I  freely  acknowledge  to  be  my  superiors. 
Notwithstanding,  I  am  convinced  that  it  serves  no  useful 
purpose  (except  in  casting  for  distance  only)  not  other- 
wise readily  attainable,  while  it  certainly  looks  labored 


324  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

and  awkward.  The  one  method  resembles  the  postures 
of  a  trained  athlete,  no  portion  or  member  of  his  body  in 
motion  except  those  in  actual  use;  the  others  approxi- 
mate in  greater  or  less  degree  to  the  contortions  of  the 
greenhorn,  every  limb  pawing  the  air. 

Though  the  elbow  partakes  slightly  at  the  beginning 
of  both  the  cast  and  recover,  still  it  is  the  wrist  that  is 
really  the  motive  power  in  casting.  The  novice  cannot 
too  early  and  too  firmly  impress  this  on  his  mind. 


Fig.  83. 

The  illustrations  on  this  and  preceding  page  are  taken 
from  photographs  from  life.  Fig.  82  represents  the  posi- 
tion of  the  wrist  when  on  the  back  cast;  Fig.  83  the  wrist 
on  the  forward  cast.     Note  the  position  of  the  thumb. 

The  position  should  be  an  easy  one,  and  the  body  and 
the  unemployed  arm  should  be  kept  perfectly  still.     No 


Casting  the  Fly.  826 

habit  is  worse  in  casting  than  unnecessary  contortions  of 
the  one,  or  flourishes  of  the  other.  Not  only  is  it  exceed- 
ingly awkward,  but  it  is  injurious  as  well,  since  it  is 
motion  rather  than  the  mere  sight  of  an  object  which 
demoralizes  the  fish. 

The  coach  will  pay  particular  attention  to  the  back 
cast,  for  if  this  is  mastered  all  else  follows.  It  is  the 
secret  of  success.  In  practice,  the  end  of  the  line,  when 
behind  him,  should  in  no  case  fall  below  the  level  of  the 
caster's  head;  everything  below  that  should  be  regarded 
as  a  fault.  There  is  nothing  in  fly-fishing  which  so 
promptly  grades  an  angler  as  a  high  back  cast,  when 
circumstances  permit  its  use,  while  nothing  will  more 
prejudice  reputation  for  skill  than  the  habit,  even  when 
sitting  in  a  boat,  of  allowing  the  flies  to  touch  the  water 
behind  the  caster.  The  expert  knows  how  few  possess 
the  former  accomplishment,  and  that  to  him  who  has  it 
the  highest  development  of  the  art  is  possible;  while  he 
equally  recognizes  that  the  latter  is  a  vicious  habit,  dif- 
ficult to  overcome,  and  a  perfect  bar  to  real  excellence. 

Therefore  cultivate  a  high  back  cast  with  the  utmost 
assiduity.  It  is  not  difficult  to  acquire  at  the  beginning, 
though  this  is  no  longer  the  case  when  another  and  dif- 
ferent habit  has  been  formed. 

The  secret  of  this  is  to  throw  the  rod  but  little,  if  any, 
beyond  the  perpendicular  on  the  back  cast.  The  first 
view  in  this  chapter  illustrates  the  extreme  limit.  While 
the  butt  joint  is  nearly  upright,  the  upper  portion  of  the 
rod  will  bend  backward  still  more.  Rods  of  varying 
flexibility  vary  somewhat  in  this  respect.  The  stiffer 
may  be  thrown  a  little  farther  back,  and  still,  since  they 
bend  less,  give  the  line  the  required  upward  direction.  I 
trust  I  have  emphasized  the  importance  of  this  sufficient- 


826  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle, 

ly,  as  well  as  made  clear  the  method  by  which  it  may  be 
attained. 

The  coach  must  next  see  to  it  that  the  caster  by  no 
means  begins  the  forward  impulse,  until  the  line  has  ex- 
tended behind  to  the  limit  of  its  length. 

Ignore  the  front  cast  altogether  in  the  first  lessons, 
considering  it  merely  as  a  necessary  preparation  for  the 
back  cast,  and  as  otherwise  of  no  consequence  whatever. 
Concentrate  the  attention  on  these  two  features  of  the 
back  cast  altogether  (except,  of  course,  to  insist  that  the 
body  and  unemployed  arm  are  motionless,  and  that  the 
impulse  proceeds  from  the  wrist).  Hang  to  these  two 
points  as  if  they  were  all  there  was  to  fly-casting,  for 
really  this  assumption  will  be  but  little  wide  of  the 
truth. 

Having  given  the  backward  impulse  to  the  line,  it 
will  be  found  that  an  interval  must  intervene  between 
this  and  the  forward  impulse,  during  which  the  line  is 
occupied  in  straightening  itself  out.  This  pause  is  ab- 
solutely essential,  and  an  undue  abridgment  of  its  du- 
ration 'is  the  most  common  of  all  faults.  It  varies,  of 
course,  with  the  length  of  line  used;  and  since  the  caster 
cannot  see  behind  him,  that  he  may  know  when  the  exact 
moment  for  the  forward  impulse  has  arrived,  he  must  use 
the  eyes  of  another,  or  experiment  in  the  dark. 

A  sensitive  hand  can  feel  a  drag  on  the  tip  when  the 
line  has  extended  properly  on  the  back  cast,  and  thus 
tell  when  to  begin  the  forward  movement,  no  matter 
what  length  of  line  may  be  in  use.  The  beginner  should 
be  alert  to  perceive  this,  for,  if  he  can,  it  will  materially 
expedite  his  progress. 

The  coach  will  therefore  watch  the  line,  and  when  it 
has  thus  extended  its  full  length  give  the  word  "Now!" 


Casting  the  Fly.  B27 

Thereupon  let  the  caster  at  once  give  the  forward  im- 
pulse. It  will  require  a  little  practice  on  the  part  of  the 
former  to  give  the  word  at  the  proper  moment,  and  on 
the  part  of  the  latter  promptly  to  respond,  but  this  will 
be  soon  overcome. 

By  a  rigid  adherence  to  this  method  of  coaching  and 
practice,  a  high  back  cast,  and  the  allowance  of  the 
proper  interval  for  the  line  to  straighten  out,  will  soon 
become  purely  automatic — a  mere  matter  of  instinct  ad- 
justing itself  to  whatever  length  of  line  may  be  in  use, 
without  a  thought  or  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  caster. 

When  this  is  accomplished,  and  stick  to  it  until  it  is, 
the  game  is  in  your  own  hands,  for  everything  else  fol- 
lows almost  of  itself. 

Now  some  attention  may  be  profitably  given  to  the 
forward  cast.  That  the  line  shall  fall  gently  upon  it,  the 
end  reaching  the  level  of  the  mark  first,  are  the  desid- 
erata. To  accomplish  this,  throw  the  rod  forward,  re- 
membering to  derive  the  impulse  from  the  wrist,  until 
it  assumes  the  position  shown  by  Fig.  84  on  the  follow- 
ing page. 

Cast  not  at  the  mark,  but  as  though  an  object  three  or 
four  feet  above  it  were  the  bull's-eye.  Then  when  the  line 
has  unfolded  almost  its  entire  length,  raise  the  point  of 
the  rod  a  couple  of  feet  or  so.  This  will  turn  the  line 
point  foremost,  and  cause  the  end  to  alight  first.  If  the 
force  of  the  impulse  is  justly  proportioned  to  the  dis- 
tance to  be  covered,  the  line  will  fall  by  its  own  gravity 
alone  upon  the  paper ;  but  if  too  much  power  has  been 
applied,  it  will  strike  hard,  or  recoil  and  fall  short  of  the 
mark.  That  cast  is  the  most  perfect  in  which  the  mini- 
mum of  force  is  employed,  and  the  beginner  must  make 
constant  effort  to  see  with  how  little  exertion  he  can 


838  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

accomplish  the  result.  He  will  find  that  very  little 
power  is  required  even  for  quite  a  long  line — say  fifty- 
five  feet — and  that  the  line  falls  most  lightly  and  straight- 
est  in  those  casts  where  the  power  is  justly  proportioned, 
and  not  in  excess  of  the  work  to  be  done.  But  if  care- 
ful, patient,  and  persevering,  this  too  will  soon  become 
purely  automatic,  adjusting  itself  to  circumstances  with- 
out conscious  muscular  or  mental  effort. 

But  remember  the  back  cast  is  the  foundation,  and 
that  unless  it  is  solid  the  superstructure  will  be  rick- 
ety. Remember  also  that  the  motion  of  the  rod  through 
the  air  should  be  almost,  or  quite  noiseless.  Nothing  of- 
fends the  angler's  ear  more  than  the  "  swish "  of  a  fly- 
rod.  It  is  like  a  false  note  to  an  educated  musical  ear. 
It  indicates  a  degree  of  force  about  as  appropriate  to 
the  end  in  view,  as  a  burglar's  jimmy  to  opening  a  watch. 
This  should  never  be,  except  possibly  when  casting  di- 
rectly against  the  wind  or  for  distance  only. 

After  about  a  week's  daily  practice  has  given  consid- 
erable skill  to  the  right  hand,  and  the  habit  of  a  high 
back  fly  and  the  pause  is  pretty  well  formed,  begin  to 
educate  the  left  hand  as  well,  and  after  that  practice 
both  alternately.  To  be  able  to  use  either  hand  indiffer- 
ently is  a  great  accomplishment.  Whatever  is  worth 
doing,  is  worth  doing  well.  Begin  and  continue  your 
practice  with  the  fixed  intention  to  become  second  to 
none  in  skill,  and  educate  the  left  hand,  with  the  right, 
as  one  of  the  steps  in  that  direction. 

Experience  by  this  time  will  have  taught  that  the  line 
must  be  so  thrown  behind  on  the  back  cast,  as  neither  to 
strike  the  caster  nor  the  rod  in  its  flight. 

When  the  overhead  cast  is  mastered,  and  you  can  get 
out  fifty -five  to  sixty  feet  of  line  fair,  straight,  and 


Fig.  84. 


Casting  the  Fly.  831 

light,  and  without  much  conscious  exertion  of  force,  and 
this  with  a  high  back  fly  and  the  proper  pause,  then  you 
are  ready  for  another  step  forward.  Practise  casting 
over  the  left  shoulder  for  two  or  three  lessons,  and 
then  casting  sideways,  i.e.^  moving  the  rod  horizontally 
or  nearly  so.  The  same  principles  govern  success  in 
these  as  in  the  overhead  cast.  But  first  thoroughly 
master  the  overhead  cast;  these  modifications  will  then 
seem  a  mere  bagatelle. 

Permit  me  to  caution  you  in  the  most  decided  manner 
not  to  strive  after  a  long  cast,  for  this  is  the  sure  way 
never  to  attain  it.  Let  this  take  care  of  itself.  By  no 
means  attempt  thirty-five  feet,  until  thirty  can  be  cast 
without  perceptible  effort,  and  that  in  good,  cleanly  fash- 
ion. Do  your  practising,  after  you  have  attained  the 
complete  mastery  of  forty  feet,  at  that  distance.  At  the 
end  of  the  lesson  take  a  couple  of  innings  or  so  at  forty- 
three  to  forty-five  feet,  thus  making  your  distance  prac- 
tice an  entirely  separate  and  distinct  thing.  Hang  to 
that  distance  until  you  master  it  completely  and  with 
perfect  ease,  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  add  two  or  three 
feet  and  not  more.  Proceed  in  this  way  adding  but  two 
or  three  feet  at  most  at  each  increase,  and  sticking  to 
that  until  you  master  it  completely  before  attempting 
more.  At  over  forty -five  feet  you  should  devote  at 
least  a  week  to  the  next  additional  three  feet,  without  a 
thought  of  anything  beyond.  Fifty  feet  is  about  the 
maximum  fishing  distance  ordinarily  employed;  but  by 
rigid  adherence  to  these  rules  you  will  easily  acquire 
command  of  seventy  feet,  provided  you  master  the  high 
back  cast  and  the  pause.  Otherwise  you  will  never  be 
able  to  do  fifty -five  feet  decently. 

Remember  that  to  cast  sixty  feet  is  not  to  boggle  at 


383  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle, 

fifty  or  fifty-five,  with  a  line  full  of  loops  and  projected 
with  the  force  of  a  catapult,  and  then,  by  good-luck 
rather  than  good  management,  at  last  attain  even  seven- 
ty-five feet.  This  is  mere  botchwork,  and  nothing  will 
more  surely  arrest  progress  than  such  misdirected  efforts. 
He  only  can  properly  be  said  to  be  able  to  cast  sixty  feet 
who  can  lay  out  a  fair,  straight,  and  light  line  to  that 
distance,  not  once,  but  time  and  time  again  in  succession. 
And  let  me  assure  you  that  very  few  proficient  anglers 
can  do  this.  Not  that  they  could  not  readily  attain  this 
and  more  with  practice,  but  simply  because  all  the  cast- 
ing they  do  is  done  in  actual  fishing ;  and  those  who 
really  understand  themselves  then  proportion  their  means 
to  their  ends.  Nevertheless,  though  to  be  able  to  cast  a 
long  line  will,  perhaps,  make  very  little  difference  in  the 
number  and  size  of  the  fish  taken  at  the  end  of  a  season, 
it  certainly  adds  a  very  elegant  finish  to  the  angler's  ac- 
quirements, just  as  a  fine  steeple  adds  to  the  beauty  of 
a  church.  Having  mastered  thoroughly  forty  feet,  so 
that  the  rod  and  line  work  with  the  precision  of  a  ma- 
chine, then  comes  the  strike. 

In  swift  water  the  fish  generally  hook  themselves,  but 
not  so  in  still  water.  Here  the  strike  must  follow  the 
rise,  as  its  shadow  follows  a  cloud.  This  too  may  be  ac- 
quired without  approaching  the  water,  and  must  be  prac- 
tised until  purely  automatic.  To  acquire  this  the  caster 
must  cast,  draw  his  line  towards  him,  trailing  it  on  the 
ground,  and  at  the  word  "  Strike !"  from  the  coach,  re- 
trieve the  line  at  once.  The  coach  should  use  care  to 
give  the  word  at  irregular  times,  so  that  the  caster  may 
not  anticipate  him.  When  considerable  skill  and  prompt- 
ness in  response  h^s  been  acquired,  the  coach  should 
abandon  giving  the  word,  and  signal  the  proper  moment 


Casting  the  Fly.  333 

by  dropping  a  pebble  on  the  paper,  standing  close  to  it 
for  this  purpose.  The  instant  the  pebble  falls,  the  strike 
should  follow.  Strike  lightly  if  you  can,  but  at  all  events 
strike  quickly.  Many  of  the  angling  books  direct  that 
the  strike  be  made  from  the  reel ;  that  is,  with  the  line 
perfectly  free  to  render  except  for  such  resistance  as  the 
click  of  the  reel  may  impose.  Thus  if,  in  his  anxiety  to 
strike  quickly,  the  angler  strikes  too  hard,  the  surplus 
force,  in  theory  at  least,  is  expended  in  drawing  line 
from  the  reel,  instead  of  being  transmitted  to  the 
leader  or  flies  to  the  peril  of  their  hold  upon  the  fish. 
This  theory,  like  many  others,  is  not  independent  of 
circumstances.  When  a  very  fine  leader  is  in  use,  to- 
gether with  flies  so  small  that  the  least  effort  will  bury 
them  over  the  barb,  this  is  without  doubt  the  proper 
practice.  But  it  is  obvious  that  where  the  hooks  are 
larger,  the  water  free  from  current,  and  a  long  line  is 
in  use,  there  is  more  work  to  be  done  in  striking  than 
with  small  flies  and  on  quick  water  where  the  current 
buoys  up  the  line.  The  object  is  to  transmit  the  strike 
to  the  taken  fly  with  the  least  possible  delay.  There- 
fore a  degree  of  force  which  would  be  more  than  ample 
in  the  one  case  may  be  quite  inadequate  in  the  other. 

For  small  fish  or  small  flies  a  mere  turn  of  the  wrist  is 
the  proper  and  artistic  thing,  but  for  large  ones  this 
method  is  a  delusion.  Then  you  must  "sock  it  to  them," 
with  the  line  firmly  held  under  the  first  finger  of  the 
casting  hand,  as  shown  in  Fig.  85.  Indeed,  after  the 
beginner  has  gained  some  command  of  his  nerves,  so 
that  while  striking  quickly  he  can  graduate  his  energy 
to  the  size  of  his  flies,  the  length  of  line  he  has  on  the 
water,  and  the  magnitude  of  the  fish,  I  am  not  sure  that 
this  is  not  the  best  method  at  all  times.     It  will  be  no- 


334  Fly -rods  (jmd  Fly -tackle, 

ticed  that  without  relaxing  the  grip  of  the  rod  the  line 
may  be  firmly  nipped  or  allowed  to  render  freely  from 
the  reel  by  simply  closing  or  slightly  raising  the  first 
finger.  Then  if  it  is  desired  to  fish  over  more  water 
than  would  be  possible  if  the  rod  alone  was  relied  on  to 
move  the  fly,  the  rod  may  be  gradually  raised  to  the 
most  advantageous  angle  for  the  strike  and  kept  in  that 
position,  while  the  movement  of  the  fly  is  continued  by 
drawing  in  the  line  with  the  free  hand,  raising  the  fin- 
ger while  the  line  is  drawn  in,  and  closing  the  finger 
down  on  the  line  and  rod  handle  when  the  free  hand 
has  drawn  in  all  the  line  it  can  and  must  reach  up  for  a 
fresh  hold.  Thus  the  fly  can  be  well  fished  over  all  the 
water  between  the  caster  and  the  extreme  limit  he  is 
able  to  cast.  This  method  is  very  advantageous  in  fish- 
ing still  water,  or,  indeed,  all  water  where  a  rise  may 
happen  at  any  part  of  the  path  the  fly  so  handled  may 
traverse.  Personally  I  employ  this  method  constantly 
in  my  own  fishing,  using  the  reel  comparatively  little. 
If  I  fasten  a  fish,  I  let  the  line  run  out  between  the 
thumb  and  first  finger  of  the  free  hand — the  hand  that 
is  not  holding  the  rod — pressing  the  line  more  or  less 
according  to  the  resistance  it  seems  advisable  to  impose 
upon  the  fish.  When  fishing  from  a  canoe  or  boat  I 
allow  the  line  to  drop  upon  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  at 
my  feet  as  I  draw  it  in,  being  careful,  however,  not  to 
step  on  it.  If  wading,  the  loop  of  the  line  falls  in  the 
water  and  runs  down  with  the  current.  If  fishing  from 
the  bank  the  length  of  the  loop  is  so  limited  that  it 
shall  not  reach  the  ground,  lest  it  either  catch  on  some- 
thing, or  sand  adhere  to  the  wet  line  and  so  be  drawn 
into  the  reel  when  the  line  is  ultimately  wound  up  on  it. 
This  method  has  a  further  advantage.     The  cardinal 


Casting  the  Fly.  335 

principle  in  playing  a  fish  is  to  get  it  away  from  the 
place  where  it  was  fastened  and  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  where  one  can  watch  its  pranks,  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. The  reasons  for  this  are  threefold  and  obvious. 
Trout  love  cover,  and  the  place  where  they  harbor  is  apt 
to  be  snaggy.  To  foul  a  snag  when  a  decent-sized  fish 
is  on  is  to  abandon  hope  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  Again, 
where  one  fish  is  hooked  others  are  apt  to  be,  and  further 
sport  may  be  reasonably  looked  for  provided  suspicion 
is  not  aroused  by  the  gyrations  of  the  fish  already  fast- 
ened. Furthermore,  hidden  dangers  are  those  most  to 
be  dreaded,  since  while  we  may  by  skill  and  good  judg- 
ment avoid  those  we  can  see,  we  must  trust  to  blind 
luck  to  escape  those  we  cannot  see.  Now  any  trout,  I 
care  not  what  its  size  may  be,  can  be  dragged  quite  a 
distance  from  the  place  where  it  was  hooked  with  no 
more  resistance  than  if  it  were  inert,  provided  the  angler 
begins  to  drag  on  it  the  instant  it  is  fastened.  It  seems 
as  if  they  did  not  realize  for  the  moment  what  had  hap- 
pened to  them.  The  secret  is  to  get  a  move  on  them 
at  once  and  to  keep  them  moving.  The  ordinary  reel 
is  not  quick  enough,  and  the  automatic  reel  is  too  weak 
to  do  this.  But  by  the  method  just  described  I  have 
done  it  time  and  time  again,  with  never  a  failure,  in 
water  so  obstructed  that  no  other  course  afforded  rea- 
sonable prospect  of  ultimate  success. 

But  to  return  to  the  strike.  Promptness  to  respond 
to  a  rise  without  a  suspicion  of  hesitancy  is  practically 
the  important  point.  I  have  found  it  far  more  diflicult 
to  induce  the  many  beginners  it  has  been  my  privilege 
to  instruct  to  strike  promptly  than  to  cast  a  very  de- 
cent fly.  One  and  all,  especially  ladies,  seem  to  act  as 
though  they  simply  could  not  strike  until  the  fish  was 


336  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

felt.  Then,  of  course,  barring  accidents,  it  is  too  late. 
If  the  beginner,  when  he  sees  the  commotion  of  a  fish 
near  the  fly,  will  only  try  to  snatch  it  away  so  quickly 
that  the  fish  cannot  reach  it,  he  will  do  just  what  he 
ought  to  do  and  just  what  the  experienced  angler  does. 

In  the  spring  of  1883,  fishing  was  good  where  I  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  be.  And  as  is  my  custom,  the  locality 
permitting,  we  made  a  little  pond  in  which  to  imprison 
and  watch  the  fish  taken.  Again  and  again  we  filled  the 
pond  with  trout,  and  after  a  brief  confinement  returned 
them  to  the  water  and  liberty.  At  last  a  spring  pond  at 
no  great  distance  abounding  in  minnows  yet  destitute 
of  trout  occurred  to  our  minds,  and  we  determined  to 
stock  it.  Water  transportation  was  available  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  distance,  but  the  last  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  was  land  carriage.  Across  this  my  guide 
John  carried  the  fish  in  a  tin  milk-pail,  his  hat  floating 
on  the  surface  of  the  water  therein  contained,  lest  in 
their  struggles  they  should  flop  out  to  their  injury,  for 
they  were  all  good-sized  fish  and  very  lively. 

Upon  reaching  the  border  of  their  new  home  the  fish 
were  completely  exhausted  by  their  struggles,  and  when 
placed  in  the  water  were  quite  content  to  breathe  and 
rest,  without  an  effort  to  move  away.  During  the  hour 
or  more  occupied  in  this  portage — for  the  pail  would  not 
hold  more  than  three  or  four  at  a  time — I  stood  and 
watched  these  fish  lying  at  my  feet  in  not  more  than  a 
foot  of  crystal  water.  Occasionally  as  they  breathed  a 
dead  leaf  would  drift  into  the  mouth  of  some  one  of 
them.  For  a  brief  second  it  would  remain  before  its 
presence  seemed  to  be  realized  ;  then  it  was  shot  out 
with  a  velocity  sufficient  to  project  it  several  inches 
through  the  water.     I  say  shot  out,  and  that  phrase  ex- 


Casting  the  Fly.  337 

actly  describes  the  suddenness  of  the  operation.  I  then 
thought  that  thus  does  the  trout  reject  the  artificial  fly 
when  the  deception  is  discovered,  and  realized  how  very, 
very  brief  was  the  interval  in  which  advantage  might 
be  taken  of  a  rise. 

I  have  here  laid  out  what  I  take  to  be  about  two 
months'  to  two  and  a  half  months'  work.  Certainly  it 
can  be  compassed  in  a  single  close  season.  Access  to 
water,  I  believe,  will  prove  rather  a  drawback  than  an 
advantage,  tending  to  distract  the  attention  from  the  main 
object  in  view,  the  formation  of  a  correct  habit. 

At  the  expiration  of  that  period,  I  believe  that  two 
persons  of  average  adaptability,  each  aiding  the  other, 
can  with  patience  and  perseverance,  and  by  strictly  fol- 
lowing the  directions  contained  in  this  chapter,  become 
proficient  in  casting  the  fly  to  a  degree  not  by  any  means 
common  even  among  experienced  anglers.  True,  this  is 
not  all  of  fly-fishing ;  but  then  the  attention  is  thereafter 
free  to  devote  itself  to  those  lessons  learned  only  from 
Nature's  book,  face  to  face  with  Nature  herself.  Then 
what  the  mind  directs,  that  the  muscles  can  execute,  and 
thus  the  experience  of  years  can  be  compressed  into  a 
comparatively  brief  period. 

He  who  is  complete  master  of  his  scales  and  intervals 
will  have  little  trouble  to  learn  to  play  a  set  piece ;  and 
so  in  this  case  the  scales  and  intervals  have  been  mas- 
tered, the  hours  of  toil  are  over,  and  their  reward  is  at 
hand. 

The  violin  player  sees  a  note  on  the  written  page.  He 
does  not  stop  to  think  "that  is  D,  and  must  be  played 
with  the  fourth  finger  in  the  third  position."  It  is  be- 
fore him,  and  without  a  thought  of  what  the  note  is  or 
where  it  lies,  his  hand  flies  to  the  accustomed  place,  he 
22 


338  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

cannot  tell  you  how.  There  is  practically  a  sort  of  mem- 
ory of  the  muscles,  sometimes  called  force  of  habit,  and 
it  is  this  that  the  fly-caster  must  sooner  or  later  acquire 
if  he  would  reach  even  mediocrity. 

It  is  as  easy  to  acquire  a  good  habit  as  a  bad,  and  far 
more  profitable.  To  aid  the  beginner  in  this  is  the  object 
of  this  chapter.  It  cannot  more  fitly  close  than  by  re- 
iterating once  more,  remember  the  secret  of  success  lies  in 
the  bach  cast,  

This  chapter  was  ready  for  the  printer  when  that  day 
looked  forward  to  with  such  impatience  for  the  preced- 
ing ten  months,  the  day  when  I  was  to  depart  for  my 
annual  six  weeks  in  the  Maine  woods,  arrived.  Had  any 
man  told  me  the  year  before,  when  with  a  half -sup- 
pressed groan  I  disjointed  my  rod  on  the  evening  of  the 
last  day  of  the  open  season,  that  I  should  never  wet  line 
again  unless  beyond  the  river  of  life,  I  should  have  as- 
sented to  its  possibility.  But  had  he  said  that  before 
another  season  I  should  write  a  book  on  fly-fishing — a 
subject  involving  so  much,  and  of  which,  compared  with 
its  extent,  I  know  so  little — I  should  have  thought  he 
was  mad.  Who  can  resist  to  the  end  the  flattery  and 
the  solicitations  of  the  friends  he  loves  ? 

Many  anglers  of  all  grades  in  the  art,  from  the  lady 
beginner  on  the  outskirts  of  the  wilderness,  to  the  fin- 
ished expert  within  its  inmost  recesses,  have  passed 
under  my  observation,  I  know  not  without  profit  to  me 
— I  hope  not  without  advantage  to  the  beginner  to  whom 
I  have  addressed  myself. 

Casting  is  by  no  means  all  of  fly-fishing.  It  is  an  art, 
and  one  not  easy  to  acquire  in  perfection ;  but  the 
greater  part  of  the  difficulty  usually  experienced  is  due 


Casting  the  Fly.  339 

to  a  faulty  beginning,  and  to  vicious  and  pertinacious 
habits  thus  unconsciously  formed. 

I  believe  with  even  greater  confidence  than  when  it 
was  written,  that  the  system  set  forth  in  this  chapter 
will,  if  followed  with  patience  and  perseverance,  surely 
accomplish  the  desired  result.  As  some  acquire  manual 
skill  more  readily  than  others,  so  will  the  degree  of 
patience  and  practice  required  to  attain  this  end  vary 
with  different  individuals.  But  I  sincerely  believe  that 
his  or  her  clumsiness  must  be  indeed  phenomenal,  who 
cannot,  without  a  sight  of  water  other  than  that  in  some 
domestic  utensil,  acquire  the  art  of  casting  the  fly  with 
more  than  the  average  degree  of  skill  in  a  single  close 
season.  Remember  the  secrets  of  its  success  lie  in  the 
friendly  aid  of  a  coach  willing  to  be  guided  by  its  pre- 
cepts, and  in  the  back  cast. 

Some  act  and  talk  as  though  casting  were  the  entire 
art  of  fly-fishing,  and  grade  an  angler  solely  by  the  dis- 
tance he  can  cover  with  his  flies.  This  is  a  great  mis- 
take and  pernicious  in  its  influence.  Casting  is  but  a 
method  of  placing  the  fly  before  the  trout  without  alarm- 
ing it,  and  within  its  reach.  It  is  merely  placing  food  be- 
fore a  guest.  The  selection  of  such  food  as  will  suit,  and 
so  serving  it  as  to  please  a  fastidious  and  fickle  taste,  still 
remain  indispensably  necessary  to  induce  its  acceptance. 

Further  than  I  have  done  in  this  book,  and  I  am  well 
aware  how  inadequate  it  is,  I  cannot  advise  what  flies 
will  please.  The  most  experienced  are  often  at  their 
wits'  ends  in  this  respect,  and  if  they  find  any  solution  at 
all  to  the  problem  in  hand,  find  it  where  they  least  ex- 
pect, and  when,  after  having  exhausted  every  resource 
of  their  skill,  they  leave  the  selection  to  chance  rather 
than  judgment. 


340  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle, 

But  the  manipulation  of  the  fly  after  it  has  touched 
the  water  is  quite  another  matter.  Without  undue  vio- 
lation of  the  proprieties  it  may  be  considered  a  part  of 
the  cast,  and  it  is  proposed  so  to  treat  it. 

Nothing  during  the  past  season  has  more  impressed 
me  than  the  fact,  if  fact  it  be,  that  in  no  single  point  in 
fly-fishing  was  error  more  common  than  in  this.  Not  so 
much  where  a  strong  current  lends  instant  aid  to  the 
angler  is  this  apparent;  as  in  the  fishing  of  pools  and 
of  still-water — the  very  places  where  the  best  fish  are 
usually  to  be  found.  Nor  is  it  a  fault  of  the  beginner, 
but  rather  of  those  whose  proficiency  is  otherwise  con- 
siderable. 

To  such,  if  any,  who  with  limited  practical  experience 
may  become  facile  casters  by  following  the  precepts  of 
this  chapter,  a  careful  consideration  of  the  following 
problem  is  recommended,  for  they  stand  in  a  position  of 
special  danger.     The  problem  is  : 

1st.  To  place  the  fly  within  reach  of  the  trout  without 
alarming  it. 

2d.  So  to  handle  it  as  to  simulate  a  living  creature, 
and  one  tempting  to  its  appetite. 

3d.  To  do  this  in  such  a  manner  that  if  the  fly  is 
touched,  the  trout  shall  infallibly  be  fastened. 

It  is  neither  to  the  first  nor  to  the  second  of  these 
points  that  I  would  call  attention.  But  the  third  is  well 
worthy  the  study  of  every  angler,  old  or  new. 

Confining  our  attention  to  pool  and  still-water  angling, 
it  is  rare  that  a  trout,  unless  gaunt  with  famine,  takes  a 
fly  the  moment  it  touches  the  water,  and  then  only  when 
the  stratum  which  intervenes  between  it  and  the  fly  is 
shallow.  Taking  any  season  through,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  at  least  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred 


Casting  the  Fly.  341 

trout  captured  in  such  water,  will  be  found  to  have  taken 
the  fly  after  it  has  been  moved  from  the  place  where  it 
first  fell.  It  is  also  true  that  in  such  water  some  demon- 
stration on  the  part  of  the  angler  is  usually  necessary  to 
fasten  the  hook  after  the  fly  has  been  taken,  or  it  will 
be  rejected  and  the  opportunity  lost ;  also  that  the  in- 
terval during  which  this  may  successfully  be  done  is 
brief. 

Now  it  is  mathematically  certain  that  when  the  rod  is 
at  a  right  angle  with  the  line,  a  given  movement  of  the 
tip  of  the  rod  will  transmit  its  impulse  with  the  greatest 
rapidity,  and  with  the  maximum  of  effect,  through  the 
line,  since  then  there  is  the  least  possible  lost  motion. 
It  is  also  certain  that  when  the  rod  and  line  form  one 
straight  line,  a  very  considerable  upward  movement  of 
the  tip  is  followed  by  but  slight  retraction  of  the  line ; 
there  is  then  much  lost  motion,  and  consequently  the 
impulse  is  tardily  conveyed  to  the  hook. 

It  is  equally  indisputable  that  when  the  rod  is  so 
raised  that  the  line  is  parallel  with  it,  or  nearly  so,  all 
command  over  the  former  is  gone ;  the  rod  has  already 
shortened  the  line  all  it  possibly  can,  and  the  power  to 
strike  is  lost. 

The  problem  is  a  most  simple  one. 

Let  us  suppose  the  tip  of  the  rod  to  be  pointing  at  an 
object  exactly  forty  feet  distant  from  it.  Now  suppose 
the  tip  to  be  raised  three  feet,  the  end  describing  in  so 
doing  the  arc  of  a  circle  of  which  the  hand  is  the  centre, 
as  in  actual  fishing.  Clearly,  now,  that  end  is  more  dis- 
tant from  the  assumed  point  than  before,  and  more  line 
would  be  required  to  reach  it ;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
line,  if  it  did  not  break,  must  either  stretch  or  move  that 
difference.     Thus  a  theoretical  measure  of  the  efficiency 


S42  Fly^ods  and  Fly-tackle. 

of  the  "  strike  "  at  any  angle  of  the  rod  may  be  obtained. 
Construction  of  the  proper  diagrams  will  also  show  that 
the  strike  becomes  less  and  less  efficient  as  the  length 
of  the  line  increases,  and  also  as  the  hand  actuating  the 
rod  approaches  the  level  of  the  water. 

I  have  said  a  theoretical  measure^  and  advisedly,  since 
we  have  been  treating  the  fly-rod  as  though  it  were  as 
stiff  as  a  telegraph-pole.  Clearly  we  must  take  its  flex- 
ibility into  account,  since  before  the  movement  of  the  tip 
can  overcome  the  inertia  of  the  line  and  the  friction  of 
the  water  upon  it,  the  rod  must  bend  until  the  tension 
of  its  elasticity  is  in  excess  of  that  inertia  and  friction 
combined.  Thus  we  see  that  another  deduction  must  be 
made  from  the  efficiency  of  the  strike,  one  rapidly  increas- 
ing in  amount  as  the  length  of  line,  and  its  consequent  in- 
ertia and  friction  from  contact  with  the  water,  increases. 

Based  upon  these  considerations  was  the  suggestion 
heretofore  made,  that  a  cast  of  five  and  a  half  times 
the  length  of  the  rod  approximated  closely  to  the  ex- 
treme efficient  limit  in  practical  fly-fishing — assuming 
the  caster  to  be  wading  knee-deep  or  sitting  in  a  fairly 
high-sided  boat.  A  quick  eye  and  a  prompt  hand,  trained 
by  long  practice,  may  extend  this  distance  somewhat,  but 
I  believe  not  much.  The  stiffness  of  the  rod  used  is  also 
a  variable  factor  effecting  the  result.  I  therefore  per- 
sonally prefer  a  rod  as  stiff  as  is  consistent  with  pleasur- 
able casting.  Furthermore,  it  was  with  these  consider- 
ations in  view  that  I  have,  in  the  Chapter  on  Rod-mak- 
ing, sought  to  give  all  emphasis  to  the  direction,  so  to 
proportion  the  lower  part  of  the  rod  as  to  give  absolute 
command  over  the  tip. 

If  our  mathematics  are  correct,  the  following  practical 
conclusions  would  seem  necessarily  to  follow: 


Casting  the  Fly,  343 

1st.  Invariably  use  as  short  a  line  as  circumstances  will 
permit. 

2d.  If  it  has  not  been  done  in  the  cast  itself,  at  once 
elevate  the  tip  of  the  rod  until  it  forms  an  angle  with  the 
line,  and  let  that  angle  be  as  near  a  right  angle  as  the 
length  of  line  in  use  and  the  reserved  movement  of  the 
rod  required  to  manipulate  and  retrieve  the  flies  will 
permit. 

3d.  By  no  means  draw  the  flies  so  far  towards  you  as 
seriously  to  impair,  much  less  altogether  to  lose,  the 
power  to  strike.  In  either  case  you  will  almost  certainly 
lose  your  fish,  and  in  the  latter  your  rod  will  probably 
be  shattered. 

The  fault,  or  I  should  say  faults,  for  there  are  two  in 
number,  notice  of  the  prevalence  of  which  impelled  me 
to  add  to  this  chapter,  are, 

1st.  A  tendency  to  use  an  altogether  unnecessary  length 
of  line ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  shirk  good  water  within 
distances  in  which  the  advantage  would  be  with  the 
angler,  to  fish  more  distant  and  less  promising  places  at 
a  disadvantage. 

2d.  Postponing  the  back  cast  until  the  power  to  strike 
is  nearly  or  quite  lost. 

I  repeat,  that  he  who  has  acquired  the  knack  of  casting 
with  facility,  without  other  and  further  knowledge  of  the 
art,  is  almost  sure  to  err  in  these  respects.  I  cannot  too 
strenuously  urge  this  upon  the  attention  of  the  beginner. 
If  the  fish  are  very  shy,  the  pool  promising,  and  to  be  fished 
from  the  bank,  cut  a  bush  your  own  height;  approach 
the  pool  slowly,  holding  it  between  you  and  where  you 
suppose  the  trout  to  lie,  and  when  you  have  reached  your 
station  rest  the  butt  end  on  the  ground,  supporting  your 
blind  with  the  left  hand.     When  a  fish  is  fastened  get 


844  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

him  into  barren  water  as  soon  as  possible,  following  him 
still,  if  you  can,  under  cover  of  your  blind.  A  very 
slight  cover  and  the  avoidance  of  quick  motion  are  suf- 
ficient to  insure  success,  if  the  fish  are  disposed  to  feed. 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  narrate  exactly 
under  what  circumstances  this  addition  to  the  present 
chapter  was  decided  upon. 

John  and  I  were  fishing  for  large  trout  at  the  outlet  of 
a  lake  in  North-western  Maine.  The  wind  drew  up  the 
outlet  with  sufficient  force  to  make  it  advisable  to  anchor 
our  boat  pretty  well  down,  and  cast  up  into  the  lake. 
The  strait  was  shallow,  but  the  water  rapidly  deepened 
within  the  lake,  forming  a  horseshoe-shaped  bar,  the  con- 
vexity towards  us,  over  the  edge  of  which  I  cast  into  the 
deep  water  and  drew  my  flies  towards  the  shallow.  The 
fishing  was  not  very  fruitful,  but  still  it  was  a  recognized 
haunt  of  large  trout,  and  one  might  be  expected  at  any 
moment.  Soon  a  new-comer  approached  with  his  guide, 
skirmished  around  the  shore  of  the  lake  so  as  not  to  dis- 
turb the  water,  anchored  near  us,  for  there  was  plenty  of 
room  for  two  to  fish,  and  began  to  cast.  He  was  a  su- 
perb caster.  As  he  sat  in  the  boat,  his  flies  soon  touched 
the  water  at  a  distance  I  then  estimated  at  not  less  than 
seventy  feet  from  him. 

There  was  no  bungling  about  it;  his  flies  went  out  be- 
fore and  behind  as  fair  and  straight  as  it  is  possible  to 
cast  that  length  of  line  under  like  conditions.  He  was 
clearly  a  master  of  the  art.  For  about  half  an  hour  he 
ranged  his  flies  over  that  water,  at  distances  varying  from 
fifty-five  up  to,  I  believe,  over  seventy  feet.  He  got  no 
rise,  became  discouraged,  pulled  up  his  anchor,  and  moved 
to  seek  better  forttine  elsewhere. 

"  That  was  elegant  casting,  John." 


Casting  the  Fly.  345 

John,  before  whom  as  guide  hosts  of  anglers  of  all 
grades  had  passed  in  review  year  after  year,  "sized"  it 
in  a  moment. 

"  Yes,  it  was  elegant  casting,  but  it  was  mighty  poor 
fishing,  all  the  same." 

For  consider  it  a  moment.  The  fish  cruised  in  deep 
water  around  the  break  of  the  bar.  That  was  where  they 
concentrated,  coming  from  all  directions  down  the  lake. 
There,  too,  the  water  was  not  so  deep  but  that  a  slow- 
moving  fly  might  tempt  them  from  the  bottom  itself. 
This  water,  the  very  cream  of  the  whole,  was  utterly 
ignored.  His  flies  lit  where  the  depth  was  not  far  from 
twenty  feet,  beyond  the  possibility  of  tempting  anything 
not  considerably  nearer  the  surface  than  the  bottom. 
Again,  the  fish  were  working  from  all  directions  towards 
the  outlet,  and  consequently  the  chance  of  one  being 
there  within  the  reach  of  his  fly  was  mathematically  far 
more  remote  than  at  the  bar  itself.  Also,  with  that  length 
of  line,  had  he  allowed  his  flies  to  rest  a  moment  on  the 
water,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  retrieve  them 
for  the  back  cast.  They  but  touched  it  and  were  off. 
Large  trout  seldom,  if  ever,  take  a  fly  with  the  dash  of  a 
four-ounce  fish.  They  at  all  times,  till  the  sting  of  the 
hook  galvanizes  them  into  action,  comport  themselves 
with  dignity,  and  their  movements  are  made  with  a  con- 
sistent deliberation.  There  was  hardly  a  possibility  of 
his  taking  anything  in  that  way;  and  so  John  justly 
characterized  it  when  he  said,  "  It  was  elegant  casting, 
but  mighty  poor  fishing,  all  the  same." 

It  may,  however,  be  that  the  gentleman  was  merely 
amusing  himself,  and  showing  us  how  he  could  cast.  If 
BO,  "  I  take  off  my  hat  to  him,"  for  anything  more  ele- 
gant in  that  line  I  have  seldom  or  never  seen. 


346  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

In  regard  to  the  second  fault  in  our  enumeration,  that 
of  postponing  the  back  cast  till  the  power  to  strike  is 
impaired,  there  is  a  way  to  surmount  it,  which,  though  it 
may  be  in  common  use  in  some  localities,  I  have  never 
seen  employed  except  by  the  gentleman  from  whom  I 
borrowed  it.  For  it  may  well  happen  that,  when  the 
angler  would  prefer  to  take  his  flies  off  the  water,  he 
has  reason  to  suppose  a  trout  is  on  the  way  to  them. 
If  the  fish  is  a  large  one,  the  probability  of  coaxing  a 
second  rise  may  be  doubtful.  It  is  not  wise  to  arrest 
the  motion  of  the  fly,  since  one  has  been  found  that  is 
attractive,  and  who  can  tell,  if  it  halts,  whether  he  will 
not  follow  suit.  So  the  temptation  to  postpone  the  back 
cast  becomes  almost  irresistible,  usually  entailing  the  con- 
sequences of  yielding  to  temptation. 

I  can  give  a  case  in  point,  and  from  my  own  past 
experience. 

It  was  September  and  was  decidedly  an  off  month  in 
Maine  waters.  The  weather  held  on  warm,  and  the 
customary  cold  rains  held  off,  in  a  most  exasperating 
manner.  So  the  big  fish  held  off  too.  John  and  I  made 
up  our  minds  to  follow  them  to  where  they  lived.  It 
was  a  tough  job,  involving  lots  of  hard  work,  poling  a 
light  canoe  -  shaped  boat  over  rapids,  paddling  it  over 
pools,  and  lifting  it  over  or  crowding  it  under  the  nu- 
merous giants  of  the  forest,  which  the  winter  gales  of 
years  had  uprooted  and  thrown  into  the  stream.  Thus 
we  traversed  some  three  miles  of  a  river  which,  as  far  as 
known,  had  been  fished  but  once  before,  and  that  five 
years  previously.  It  was  the  perfection  of  a  trout- 
stream —  clear  and  cold,  a  succession  of  deep  pools  al- 
ternated with  rapids,  while  the  primeval  forest  through 
which  it  took  its  way  shaded  the  waters,  and  furnished 


CasiMig  the  Fly.  347 

with  its  ruins  abundant  cover.  Above  and  below  I 
knew  the  stream  well,  and  hundreds  of  trout  had  taken 
my  flies  therein. 

The  descending  sun  warned  us  that  we  would  be  be- 
nighted in  the  woods  before  we  could  regain  our  camp, 
as  we  entered  the  foot  of  the  pool  which  we  determined 
should  mark  our  return.  Yet  not  even  one  single  rise 
had  I  had  all  day.  It  may  be  they  had  abandoned  that 
portion  of  the  river  on  the  way  to  their  spawning-beds, 
or  they  may  have  taken  a  pledge  of  total  abstinence; 
but  whatever  the  cause,  such  was  the  result,  and  a  suf- 
ficiently aggravating  result  it  was.  For  we  had  footed 
it  four  miles  through  the  woods,  and  had  forced  a  boat 
through  some  six  or  seven  miles  of  quick  water,  the  lat- 
ter part  greatly  obstructed,  and  had  cast  all  day  long  at 
every  available  opportunity,  and  had  as  yet  caught  noth- 
ing. A  like  return  intervened  between  us  and  both 
food  and  shelter. 

We  entered  the  pool,  the  canoe  gliding  slowly  over  its 
placid  surface  under  the  impulse  of  John's  skilful  pad- 
dle. The  still  water  was  perhaps  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  long,  some  seventy-five  feet  wide,  and  of  unknown 
depth.  Over  and  among  "  coarse  rocks  "  the  river  poured 
in  a  heavy  rapid  into  its  upper  end,  and  left  it  in  the  same 
manner.  Surely  few  pools  approach  more  closely  the  an- 
gler's ideal.  The  overhanging  forest  forced  us  to  take 
pretty  well  to  the  middle,  that  there  might  be  room  for  the 
back  cast,  and  the  position  of  the  canoe  compelled  a  cast 
somewhat  ahead  rather  than  abeam,  in  order  that  the  fly 
should  light  where  the  trout,  if  any,  might  be  expected 
to  lie.  The  motion  of  the  boat  in  the  direction  of  the 
cast  continually  tended  to  slacken  the  line,  for  which 
compensation  had  to  be  made  by  abbreviating  the  time 


348  Fly^ods  cmd  Fly-tdchle. 

during  which  the  fly  was  allowed  to  remain  on  the  wa- 
ter, by  accelerating  the  motion  of  the  rod  when  moving 
it,  and  by  abridging  the  length  of  the  cast. 

At  last  I  saw  a  gleam  of  gold  down  in  the  depths,  and 
a  trout  appeared  wagging  his  way  upward  towards  my 
fly,  with  the  deliberation  characteristic  of  trout  of  size 
in  those  waters.  As  he  approached  the  surface,  his  vivid 
colors  proclaimed  his  sex  through  the  crystal  water,  and 
I  was  enabled  to  gauge  his  weight  at  about  five  pounds. 
Clearly  he  was  a  nice  fish,  and  I  assured  myself  of  from 
twenty  minutes  to  half  an  hour  of  such  sport  as  would 
fully  make  good  the  labors  and  disappointments  of  the 
day. 

But  the  time  for  the  back  cast  had  come,  and  he  had 
not  reached  the  fly.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  If  it  were 
taken  from  the  water,  and  he  turned  to  go  back  after 
seeing  me,  as  he  must  do,  and  especially  after  seeing  the 
motion  incident  to  the  back  cast,  there  would  not  be  one 
chance  in  ten  of  coaxing  him  up  again.  So,  hoping  that 
he  would  take  it  before  the  power  to  strike  should  be 
utterly  gone,  I  reduced  the  motion  of  the  fly  to  the  mini- 
mum, and  awaited  the  event. 

At  last  he  reached  it,  and  the  fly  vanished.  Then  I 
struck  with  the  vigor  rendered  necessary  by  the  disad- 
vantage that  I  was  under,  and  stimulated  by  the  con- 
sciousness that  I  had  committed  a  stupid  blunder.  He 
turned  downward,  the  bamboo  doubled  up,  and  the  reel 
sang.  In  a  moment  the  sound  ceased,  the  rod  straight- 
ened itself,  the  fly  came  back  to  me  empty  handed,  and 
he  was  gone. 

No  offer  could  have  been  fairer,  and  I  could  not  for  a 
moment  blind  myself  to  the  fact  that  the  loss  was  clearly 
my  own  fault.     So  I  fell  to  abusing  myself  in  no  meas- 


Castmg  the  Fly. 


349 


ured  terms.  Now  when  a  man  attacks  himself  he  is  sure 
to  get  the  worst  of  it ;  so  John,  who  at  heart  was  doubt- 
less as  much  disappointed  as  I,  came  to  the  rescue,  and 
exercised  his  ready  wit  in  the  invention  of  excuses.  But 
I  silenced  him  with,  "John,  you  know  you  are  just  as 
much  disgusted  with  me  as  I  am  with  myself.  You 
know  that  that  fish  was  lost  by  my  own  gross  stupidity; 
there  is  really  no  excuse  for  it,  not  even  that  I  knew  no 
better.  There,  let  us  drop  the  subject  and  go  back  to 
camp.     I  am  through  fishing,  at  any  rate  for  to-day." 

Emergencies  of  this  character  arise  continually  in  the 
experiences  of  every  angler,  especially  if  he  fishes  much 
in  strange  waters  where  he  seeks  to  locate  the  trout  by 
casting  from  a  moving  boat.   The  following  is  a  remedy: 


Fig.  86. 

The  rod  should  be  so  held  that  the  line  leads  from  the 
reel  over  all  the  fingers  of  the  hand  employed,  except  the 


350  Fly-^ods  (Mid  Fly-tachle. 

first.  Under  that  finger  it  passes,  so  that  it  may  be  com- 
pressed against  the  handle  of  the  rod  and  checked  at 
will,  or  relaxed,  and  allowed  to  render  from  the  reel,  by 
partially  opening  or  tightly  closing  that  finger. 

Now  when  the  angler  has  reason  to  believe  a  rising 
fish  will  not  reach  his  fly  before  it  ought  to  be  taken  off 
the  water,  or  when  he  has  overcast  a  choice  spot,  and 
cannot  draw  his  flies  across  it  without  wholly  or  in  part 
losing  the  power  to  strike,  if  he  will  arrest  his  rod  when 
in  the  most  favorable  position,  and  then  seizing  the  line 
with  his  left  hand  near  the  lower  ring  of  the  rod,  draw  it 
through  the  rings,  being  careful  always  to  nip  it  with  the 
first  finger  of  his  right  hand  when  he  shifts  his  left  for 
a  fresh  hold,  he  can  thus  keep  his  fly  still  in  motion,  even 
to  the  extent  of  all  the  line  he  has  out,  and  at  the  same 
time  always  retain  unimpaired  the  power  to  strike.  Af- 
ter the  fish  is  fastened,  he  may  be  played  upon  the  slack- 
line  hanging  between  the  lower  ring  and  the  reel,  by  al- 
lowing it  to  render  between  the  thumb  and  finger*  of  the 
left  hand,  thus  keeping  up  the  required  tension.  In  this 
manner  he  may  be  brought  to  the  net  if  small;  while  if 
of  such  size  that  a  protracted  contest  is  to  be  expected, 
the  slack  -  line  will  probably  be  wholly  taken  up  by  his 
first  dash,  and  the  angler  will  have  him  upon  the  reel, 
thereafter  to  be  played  in  the  usual  manner. 

This  point  I  consider  of  great  practical  value.  Hard- 
ly a  day  passes  in  my  own  fishing  that  I  do  not  resort  to 
it  more  or  less,  and  by  it  I  have  taken  many  nice  trout 
that  otherwise  I  believe  I  should  have  lost.  I  should 
have  resorted  to  it  at  once  in  the  instance  cited,  and 
the  consciousness  that  had  I  done  so  the  result  would 
probably  have  be6n  different,  was  harder  to  bear  than 
the  loss  of  the  fish. 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  361 


CHAPTER  X. 

FLIES  AND   FLY-FISHING. 

Directions  for  fly-making  have  been  given  in  nearly 
every  book  on  angling.  I  can  add  nothing  new  to  what 
has  already  been  said  time  and  again  on  the  subject,  and 
therefore  pass  it  by. 

Considerable  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  how 
closely  the  artificial  fly  should  resemble  the  actual  in- 
sect. At  best  the  similarity  is  by  no  means  striking ; 
still  the  question  remains,  is  it  worth  while  to  strive  for 
it  at  the  increased  cost  of  money  or  labor  necessarily  in- 
volved. On  this  point  fly-fishermen  of  experience  are 
pretty  equally  divided. 

In  my  opinion  both  parties  are  correct;  sometimes  and 
in  some  localities  it  being  advisable,  while  in  others  it  is 
not.  This  is  fairly  debatable  ground,  for  our  only  ap- 
peal seems  to  be  to  experience,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the 
individual  opinion  which  each  angler  may  have  formed 
from  the  experience  he  has  had.  The  circumstances  un- 
der which  experience  is  gained  are  so  important  an  ele- 
ment in  determining  the  value  and  the  applicable  limit 
of  the  teachings  derived  therefrom,  that  divergent  opin- 
ion must  necessarily  follow.  It  may  well  be  conceived 
that  he  whose  angling  has  been  confined  to  much  fished 
waters,  and  he  who  habitually  fishes  far  from  the  haunts 
of  men,  where  trout  are  both  numerous  and  uneducated, 
would  differ  in  experience,  and  consequently  in  opinion. 


353  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

We  must  remember  that  our  horizon  does  not  include 
the  whole  habitable  globe.  It  may  rain  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  while  the  sun  is  shining  in  full  splendor  else- 
where. The  truth  is  there  are  few  points  in  regard  to 
fly-fishing  of  which  it  may  justly  be  said  this  is  right  and 
that  is  wrong  irrespective  of  attendant  circumstances. 
As  the  inhabitants  of  the  Eastern  States  differ  from 
those  of  the  West  or  South,  so  the  fish  of  different  locali- 
ties differ  in  habit  and  inclination.  The  most  killing  flies 
on  the  Maine  waters  would  scare  the  trout  of  a  Pennsyl- 
vania brook  into  fits.  We  know  next  to  nothing  of  the 
causes  which  influence  the  conduct  of  fish.  To-day  they 
will  take  any  kind  of  humbug  greedily — to-morrow,  with- 
out apparent  change  of  conditions,  they  act  as  though  it 
were  a  solemn  fast,  and  ignore  every  form  of  temptation. 
To-day  they  swarm  —  to-morrow  they  have  vanished. 
Every  angler  can  recall  many  instances  of  this  kind.  I 
remember,  six  or  seven  years  ago,  I  went  out  on  one  of 
the  piers  which  support  the  "  Upper-dam  "  of  the  Rangely 
Lakes.  Before  I  could  joint  my  rod,  up  rolled  one  of 
those  gigantic  trout  for  which  that  locality  is  famous. 
A  swirl  in  the  water  like  that  from  the  blade  of  an  oar, 
and  the  sight  of  a  tail  as  broad  as  my  hand  is  long,  set 
me  to  work  without  unnecessary  delay.  From  about 
nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  until  late  in  the  afternoon 
I  cast,  except  for  a  hurried  lunch,  without  a  moment's 
cessation.  Twelve  rods  were  at  work  within  sight  all 
this  time,  and  except  a  comparatively  little  fish  of  three 
and  a  half  pounds  which  fell  to  my  rod,  not  another 
trout  was  taken  during  all  that  time ;  yet  these  large 
fish  were  constantly  rising  throughout  the  day.  This  is 
by  no  means  a  solitary  or  unusual  instance.  Every  one 
accustomed  to  those  waters  has  seen  the  same  happen 


lilies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  368 

again  and  again.  Indeed  I  have  come  to  regard  it  as 
an  unfavorable  indication  for  sport  when  the  large  trout 
roll  to  the  surface  freely.  I  have  heard  many  reasons 
assigned  for  this,  but  I  notice  that  the  confidence  with 
which  these  are  asserted  is  in  inverse  proportion  to  the 
opportunities  for  observation  of  the  asserter.  The  really 
experienced  freely  confess  themselves  altogether  at  a  loss 
to  account  for  this  state  of  affairs.  For  some  reason  or 
other  that  the  fish  will  not  bite  is  apparent,  but  why 
has  so  far  eluded  investigation.  I  know  that  some  brook 
fishermen  will  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  these  trout 
are  then  feeding  on  gnats,  and  that  with  such  flies  they 
might  then  be  taken.  Let  me  assure  such,  that  the  an- 
gler's golden  rule,  "  If  one  thing  don't  work,  try  another," 
is  not  altogether  unknown  to  the  Maine  fishermen.  Flies 
of  all  sorts  and  sizes  have  been  tried  under  these  circum- 
stances together  with  every  wile  known  to  fishermen 
(except  a  shot-gun),  and  all  in  vain.  Indeed  I  have 
heard  of  one  gentleman  who,  driven  to  desperation,  dis- 
carded the  fly  and  took  to  bait.  Three  hooks  were  at- 
tached to  his  line,  armed  respectively  with  a  mouse,  a 
piece  of  salt  pork,  and  a  raisin. 

Again,  two  years  ago,  I  went  with  a  friend  up  the  Ma- 
galloway  River,  in  the  same  State,  above  Parmacheene 
Lake.  It  seemed  as  though  one  could  easily  catch  a 
tubful  of  trout  that  day.  Using  but  a  single  fly,  we 
stopped  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  apiece  long  before  the 
day  was  done,  returning  all  to  the  water  except  the  few 
which  were  injured  beyond  recovery.  They  were  small 
fish,  few  above  a  pound  and  a  quarter  or  below  half  a 
pound.  Two  days  afterwards  I  accompanied  some  friends, 
then  visiting  that  region  for  the  first  time,  over  the  same 
ground.  No  rain  had  fallen,  and  the  height  of  the  wa- 
23 


354  Fly-rods  and  FVy-tackU. 

ter  was  unchanged.  That,  and  the  intervening  day,  were 
fair,  and  as  like  the  day  first  mentioned  as  one  pea  is  like 
another.  Yet  though  we  really  worked  hard,  and  de- 
voted the  entire  day  to  it,  the  total  catch  of  the  whole 
party  would  hardly  amount  to  two  dozen.  Never  in  all 
my  experience  there  had  I  seen  such  an  utter  failure  of 
sport.  Why  was  it  ?  It  was  not  because  we  had  fished 
the  place  out  on  the  first  occasion,  since  we  did  not  then 
kill  twenty  fish  altogether,  nor  had  the  stream  been  fished 
in  the  mean  time. 

For  years,  between  the  10th  of  September  and  the  Ist 
of  October,  the  outlet  of  that  lake  has  invariably  been  as 
a  bank,  on  which  one  could  always  draw  for  large  fish, 
with  the  certainty  that  his  efforts  would  be  honored. 
Yet  last  year  the  utmost  diligence  was  fruitless.  The 
large  fish  did  not  "  show  up "  there  at  all,  those  that 
were  taken  being  found  at  other,  and  hitherto  not  very 
fruitful  localities.  It  was  not  because  the  fish  were  gone, 
since  they  swarmed  in  the  preceding  spring ;  and  during 
the  very  time  when  they  were  so  misusing  us,  they  could 
be  seen  and  heard  on  any  still  evening  breaking  into  and 
through  schools  of  minnows  all  over  the  lake.  Again 
and  again  I  have  had  excellent  fishing  in  the  morning, 
while  the  afternoon  spent  in  the  same  places  has  been 
quite  barren,  and  vice  versa. 

I  have  at  times  thought  I  knew  something  about 
the  habits  of  trout,  and  that  I  could  approximate  in 
the  morning  to  the  probable  sport  of  that  day,  but  I 
now  freely  admit  I  know  little  or  nothing  about  them. 
That  trout  are  governed  by  something  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose ;  but  why  they  should  throng  together  at 
one  time  and  vanish  at  another — why  they  should  take 
the  most  transparent  fraud  on  one  occasion,  and  with- 


Indies  omd  Fly-fishing.  355 

in  a  few  hours  refuse  everything,  not  only  flies,  but  live 
and  dead  bait  as  well,  and  this  without  any  apparent 
change  of  light,  air,  food,  or  water,  is  a  problem  the 
solution  of  which  I  have  often  attempted,  but  always 
in  vain. 

And  so  it  is  with  regard  to  flies.  A  very  few  varieties, 
probably  not  over  seven  or  eight  at  the  outside,  will  an- 
swer every  purpose,  and  any  increase  in  this  respect  is 
useless  lumber — always  provided,  however,  that  the  an- 
gler fishes  in  but  one  locality.  I  know  many  writers 
have  expressed  the  same  view  before  me,  but  always,  as 
far  as  I  can  recollect,  without  this,  as  it  seems  to  me,  all- 
important  proviso.  It  by  no  means  follows,  nor  is  it  the 
fact,  that  the  flies  which  kill  in  one  State  will  be  equally 
eflicient  in  another.  On  almost  every  water  some  one  fly 
will  for  a  time  prove  superior.  How  long  this  will  last 
no  man  can  tell.  It  may  be  for  years,  and  it  may  be  for  a 
single  season,  or  for  but  a  few  days,  or  even  for  a  single 
occasion  only.  The  form  and  colors  of  this  are  by  no 
means  invariably  a  copy  of  any  natural  insect  then  upon 
the  water.  Not  only  may  it  differ  from  these,  but  it  may 
be  quite  unlike  anything  known  to  the  most  profound  in 
bug-lore ;  indeed  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  latter  is  far 
more  frequently  the  case.  But  conceding,  for  the  sake 
of  argument,  that  trout  are  as  discriminating  as  an  ento- 
mologist in  reference  to  form  and  color,  how  can  we 
deny  their  utter  ignorance  of,  or  indifference  to,  the 
manner  in  which  winged  insects  comport  themselves 
upon  the  water.  Discarding  for  a  moment  the  enthu- 
siasm with  which  we  all  regard  everything  pertaining 
to  the  art,  and  descending  to  the  basis  of  cold  fact,  who 
ever  saw  a  real  insect  light  upon  the  water,  and  then 
rush  across  it  with  the  energy  of  a  broker's  clerk  seek- 


356  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

ing  to  make  a  delivery,  when  the  hand  of  the  clock  is 
but  a  hair's-breadth  from  the  hour  which  will  mark  his 
default.  The  truth  is  we  cannot,  with  any  appliance  in 
common  use  in  this  country  at  all  events,  even  approxi- 
mate to  the  usual  motions  of  a  fly  when  upon  the  wa- 
ter. We  do,  however,  imitate  somewhat  the  action  of  a 
minnow  or  water-bug.  Again  and  again  has  the  doubt 
intruded  itself  on  my  mind,  whether  trout  regard  the 
artificial  fly  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a  living  thing 
small  enough  to  be  eaten,  without  a  thought  as  to  what 
portion  of  the  animal  kingdom  it  may  belong. 

No  living  man  can  say,  when  upon  unfamiliar  waters, 
what  fly  will  prove  most  alluring.  The  greater  his  expe- 
rience the  more  tentative  does  he  consider  his  first  efforts. 
He  then  makes  up  his  cast  to  resemble,  for  lack  of  other 
guidance,  as  nearly  as  his  facilities  will  permit,  both  in 
size  and  color,  those  flies  he  may  observe  upon  the  wa- 
ter. Failing  this,  he  is  governed  by  the  appearance  of 
the  sky  and  water.  If  it  is  a  bright  day  and  the  water 
is  clear,  he  selects  dark  flies  of  small  size.  If  the  sky  is 
overcast  and  the  water  turbid  or  brown  in  color,  those 
chosen  will  be  larger,  lighter  colored,  and  more  gaudy 
in  hue.  Color  is  a  very  important  factor  in  the  choice, 
perhaps  the  most  important.  He  therefore  makes  up  his 
cast  of  flies,  the  colors  of  which  contrast  sharply  with 
one  another,  until  he  can  ascertain  which  best  suits  the 
fickle  fancy  of  his  game. 

Therefore,  for  one  who  fishes  in  no  fixed  locality — for 
a  cosmopolitan  angler,  so  to  speak — a  well-stocked  fly- 
book,  containing  many  varieties  and  of  various  sizes,  is 
not  at  all  to  be  decried.  The  veteran  angler  never  neg- 
lects when  about  to  fish  unknown  waters,  to  interview 
and  question  some  one  who  has  fished  there,  if  such  can 


Flies  and  Fly-fidiing,  887 

be  found.  If  not,  he  resorts  to  his  host,  or  anybody 
else  who  seems  able  to  afford  information. 

Every  stream  has  its  own  peculiarities,  not  only  as  to 
the  most  successful  fly,  but  as  to  the  habits  of  its  trout 
as  well. 

Some  years  ago,  when  I  knew  more  about  fly-fishing 
than  I  ever  shall  again,  I  made  a  fishing  trip  to  Tobyhan- 
na,  in  Pennsylvania.  I  had  frequently  fished  streams 
within  thirty  or  forty  miles  of  there,  and  supposed  I  at 
least  knew  where  to  look  for  sport.  The  weather  was 
propitious,  rather  showery  perhaps, but  still  a  good  fishing 
day.  The  stream  was  a  wading  brook  of  brownish  color, 
quick  water  being  succeeded  by  still  reaches,  apparently 
stagnant.  I  fished  the  rapid  water  with  care  and  indif- 
ferent success.  The  still  waters,  though  they  were  less 
obstructed  and  easier  to  cast  over,  I  ignored  altogether, 
because  the  look  of  the  banks  and  the  water  indicated  a 
muddy  bottom,  and  I  then  believed  trout  never  fre- 
quented such  localities.  When  I  returned  in  the  even- 
ing to  the  hotel,  I  was  astonished  to  no  small  degree 
when  the  landlord  informed  me  that  these  were  the  very 
cream  of  the  whole  fishing.  Nor  was  this  all.  I  found 
that  the  small,  sober-tinted  flies  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  were  next  to  worthless,  and  that  flies  larger  than  I 
supposed  were  ever  successfully  used  for  trout,  and  much 
more  gaudy  in  color,  were  needed  in  those  waters.  These 
revelations  had  not  a  little  undermined  my  self-confi- 
dence, but  its  utter  annihilation  was  reserved  for  the  next 
day.  I  then  met  my  landlord  on  the  stream.  I  was  cast- 
ing in  what  I  considered  very  fair  style,  and  when  my 
flies  lit  upon  the  water  I  drew  them  diagonally  across  the 
stream,  the  droppers  just  skimming  the  surface.  I  had 
then  never  seen  nor  heard  of  any  other  method  of  ma- 


358  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tacMe. 

nipulating  artificial  flies  in  trout  fishing,  and  that  this  was 
not  the  only  proper  manner  to  display  them  at  all  times, 
in  all  places,  and  under  all  conditions,  I  had  never  enter- 
tained the  most  remote  suspicion.  After  feeling  his  way 
with  some  caution,  in  order  to  be  sure  the  suggestion 
would  not  be  deemed  officious,  he  said,  "  That  method  of 
handling  the  flies  may  be  all  right  on  small  streams  and 
in  clear  water,  but  here  it  is  next  to  useless."  Had  he 
told  me  that  the  flies  should  be  displayed  on  the  bank, 
rather  than  on  the  stream,  I  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  astonished.  Utterly  demoralized,  I  surrendered  the 
rod,  and  asked  for  a  practical  exhibition  of  his  method. 
The  first  cast  at  once  indicated  the  expert.  The  flies  lit 
lightly  on  the  water,  and  there  remained  for  at  least  thirty 
seconds,  without  other  motion  than  that  they  gradually 
sunk  below  the  surface.  Then  he  drew  them  towards  him 
by  a  series  of  very  slow  and  short  pulls,  each  separated 
by  a  brief  pause  from  its  predecessor,  till  near  enough  for 
another  cast. 

That  trip,  though  the  net  result  in  the  way  of  fish  was 
nothing  to  boast  of,  was  one  of  the  most  remunerative 
fishing  excursions  I  have  ever  made;  for  I  then  learned 
to  be  extremely  diffident  when  strange  waters  were  under 
discussion,  and  invariably  to  listen,  with  at  least  appar- 
ent patience  and  respect,  to  the  suggestions  or  views  of 
others. 

Though  the  method  I  then  used  is  undoubtedly  correct 
as  a  general  rule  in  clear  waters,  at  least  if  of  no  great 
depth,  it  is  by  no  means  invariably,  or  even  usually,  ad- 
vantageous in  the  brown-colored  waters  of  which  so  many 
of  our  trouting  streams  are  composed,  especially  on  deep 
pools.  \^^ 

One  of  the  most  marked  cases  in  point  is  the  Rangely 


Flies  amd  Fly-fishing,  359 

region  of  Maine.  I  dwell  somewhat  at  length  on  the,  as 
I  believe,  proper  method  of  fishing  there,  at  least  for  large 
fish :  first,  because  I  think  it  the  best  readily  accessible 
fishing  country;  and  secondly,  because  from  my  own 
personal  observation  it  seems  not  generally  known  to, 
or  at  any  rate  practised  by,  many  of  the  anglers  who 
visit  its  waters.  The  local  guides  are  accustomed  to  the 
society  of  gentlemen,  and  have,  as  a  general  rule,  gentle- 
manly instincts.  They  are  usually  anxious  to  please  their 
temporary  employers,  and  spare  no  pains  to  afford  them 
the  best  possible  sport.  Ignorant  how  great  their  confi- 
dence may  be  in  their  own  skill,  as  well  as  in  what  spirit 
suggestion  may  be  received,  they  make  it  an  invariable 
rule  never  to  comment  in  any  way  on  the  manner  in 
which  they  fish,  except  in  response  to  a  direct  question. 
Even  then  their  answers  are  couched  in  terms  so  modest 
as  not  always  to  have  the  weight  they  deserve. 

It  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  these  men  possess  powers 
of  observation  sharpened  by  constant  exercise  from  their 
earliest  boyhood.  Year  after  year,  from  the  beginning 
of  each  open  season  to  its  end,  and  upon  almost  every 
day  of  the  season,  fly-fishing  is  constantly  going  on  in 
their  presence.  Their  employers  frequently  change. 
They  see  not  only  the  methods  employed  by  the  many 
gentlemen  they  may  happen  to  be  with  from  time  to 
time,  but  also  those  used  by  the  sportsmen  employing 
their  comrades,  and  when  off  duty  these  are  frequent 
subjects  of  conversation  among  them.  Thus  they  are 
familiar  with  every  phase  of  the  art,  have  seen  each 
practically  tested,  and  know  its  value.  As  might  be  sup- 
posed, they  are  all  skilled  anglers. 

He  who  had  passed  one  entire  season  in  daily  fishing 
in  that  locality,  would  believe  himself,  and  others  would 


860  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

consider  him,  entitled  to  speak  with  authority  on  what- 
ever pertained  to  the  sport  there ;  yet  his  range  of  ob- 
servation would  be  much  narrower  than  that  of  these 
guides. 

I  have  not  jumped  to  the  conclusions  stated  below. 
Though  my  personal  experience  amply  confirms  them,  it 
is  not  so  much  my  own  views  that  I  am  about  to  express 
as  those  of  the  guides,  in  which,  I  believe,  they  are  quite 
unanimous. 

The  matter  first  came  to  my  attention  in  the  following 
manner  :  During  the  first  of  a  companionship  in  which 
some  of  the  happiest  moments  of  my  life  have  since  been 
passed,  I  was  fishing  under  the  tutelage  of  that  well- 
known  guide,  John  S.  Danf orth.  I  asked  him,  "  John, 
who  catches  the  most  big  fish  of  any  of  the  sportsmen 

who  come  here  ?"  He  replied  that  a  Mr.  S ,  of  Boston, 

was  the  most  successful  in  that  respect.  I  asked  him 
how  he  handled  his  flies,  and  made  him  show  me,  rod  in 
hand.  But  a  single  fly  was  used,  and  that  large — one 
tied  on  a  No.  2  Harrison  Sproat  hook  is  none  too  big. 
The  fly  was  cast  fair  and  straight,  allowed  to  sink  six 
inches  or  even  a  foot  where  it  fell,  then  it  was  moved 
very  slowly  three  or  four  feet,  then  followed  quite  a 
pause,  when  it  was  again  put  in  motion,  drawn  slowly  to 
within  convenient  distance  for  the  back  cast,  and  taken 
quietly  and  smoothly  from  the  water.  The  main  points 
were  to  keep  the  fly  below  rather  than  on  the  surface, 
and  to  move  it  slowly.  Better  fortune  at  once  attended 
the  adoption  of  this  system,  especially  in  the  size  of  the 
fish  taken. 

Those  having  the  best  opportunities  of  observation 
think  that  in  that  region  the  large  fish  are  not  surface- 
feeders,  at  least  on  insects.    Of  course  every  one  has  seen 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  861 

them,  when  in  the  twilight  the  lakes  are  unrippled  by 
a  breeze,  and  the  slightest  dimple  of  the  mirror  -  like 
water  is  conspicuous  —  every  one  has  then  seen  large 
trout  dash  from  underneath  through  a  school  of  min- 
nows playing  on  the  surface.  For  large  trout  to  roll 
up  during  the  month  of  September  is  also  of  frequent 
occurrence.  But  I  believe  no  one  has  as  yet  fathomed 
the  cause  of  this.  The  most  careful  observations  fail  to 
show  that  any  food  is  then  taken ;  and,  as  I  have  said 
before,  it  is  by  some  regarded  as  an  unfavorable  in- 
dication, as  far  as  successful  fishing  is  concerned.  But 
I  have  no  recollection,  in  ten  quite  protracted  fishing  ex- 
cursions to  those  waters,  ever  having  seen  a  trout  of  over 
two  pounds  take  a  natural  fly  at  all,  nor  have  I  ever  seen 
a  trout  of  over  four  pounds  take  the  artificial  fly  or  even 
a  bait  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  It  may  happen,  but  it 
is  certainly  by  no  means  common.  Small  fish  up  to  two, 
or  even  two  and  a  half  pounds,  may  readily  be  enticed  to 
take  a  fly  manipulated  in  the  usual  manner ;  but  if  the 
larger  fish  are  desired,  and  a  surfeit  of  the  smaller  is  soon 
had,  a  large  fly  must  be  used,  and  it  must  be  moved 
slowly  and  somewhat  below  the  surface,  the  deeper  the 
better. 

In  this  manner  of  fishing  a  fair  cast  is  absolutely  in- 
dispensable to  success.  The  line  and  leader  must  fall  per- 
fectly straight,  and  the  spring  of  the  rod  must  be  upon 
them  at  all  times  when  the  fly  is  in  the  water.  By  this  I 
mean,  that  the  tip  of  the  rod  must  always  be  raised 
while  the  fly  is  in  motion,  so  that  should  the  fly  be  ar- 
rested, the  rod  will  at  once  bend  and  throw  its  spring  on 
the  line.  Not  that  the  angler  is  to  rely  in  the  slightest 
degree  on  feeling  the  fish  ;  his  eye,  and  his  eye  alone,  is 
his  guide. 


363  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

The  period  of  time  during  which  the  strike  may  be 
successfully  delivered  is  very,  very  brief.  Large  fish  do 
not  come  to  the  fly  with  that  "  bounce  "  which  is  so  de- 
lightful a  characteristic  of  their  younger  brethren  ;  they 
feel  the  dignity  of  their  years  and  experience,  and  move 
with  calmness  and  deliberation.  He  who  there  or  else- 
where expects  to  take  the  larger  fish  with  the  fly,  with- 
out patience,  perseverance,  and  skill,  will  be  disappointed. 
My  experience  has  been  that  the  largest  fish  of  a  water, 
whether  scaling  ten  pounds  or  but  half  as  many  ounces, 
is  cautious,  deliberate,  and  difficult  to  deceive,  while  any 
one  can  take  the  smaller  ones,  be  they  fingerlings  or 
two-pounders ;  and  I  believe  this  experience  is  general. 
Smaller  fish  will  come  again  and  again  to  the  fly,  but  not 
so  the  large  ones.  These  may  rise  once,  but  if  the  op- 
portunity is  lost,  it  is  seldom,  indeed,  that  they  can  be 
induced  to  make  a  second  offer. 

The  notion  prevails  among  those  whose  knowledge  of 
the  Rangely  region  is  derived  solely  from  guide-books 
and  newspapers,  that  there  eight-pounders  swarm,  and 
that  any  number  of  chances  from  such  may  be  had  in  a 
single  day's  fishing.  This  is  a  delusion.  The  large  and 
the  small  fish  do  not,  as  a  general  thing,  frequent  the 
same  localities,  at  least  at  the  same  time.  The  angler 
must  choose  whether  small  fish  will  be  sought,  with  rea- 
sonable certainty  of  getting  plenty  of  them,  or  large  fish, 
with  very  dubious  prospects  of  success.  It  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  it  is  only  exceptionally  good-luck  which 
is  ever  made  matter  of  record  ;  it  is  human  nature  to  be 
silent  as  to  its  failures. 

The  plain  truth  is,  that  if  an  angler  there  succeeds  in 
attracting  one  eight-pounder  in  eight  days'  fishing,  his 
luck  is  decidedly  above  the  average.     By  trolling,  the 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  363 

chances  are  somewhat  increased ;  but  that  has  little  at- 
traction for  the  fly-fisherman.  No  man,  however,  can 
tell  when  his  opportunity  will  come.  The  very  first  cast 
may  be  the  lucky  one. 

In  September,  1884,  a  gentleman  took  a  trout  in 
Rangely  Lake  of  a  fraction  over  nine  pounds  in  actual 
weight,  not  only  at  almost  his  first  cast  in  those  waters, 
but  also  at  his  very  first  attempt  to  use  the  fly  at  all  in 
fishing — and  this  directly  under  the  noses  of  many  ex- 
pert and  locally  experienced  anglers.  It  was  a  bitter 
pill  to  them,  and  though  it  was  swallowed,  it  was  not 
without  many  a  grimace  and  much  railing  at  fortune. 

Fish  may  be  had,  but  the  big  ones  seldom  at  the  best. 
Therefore  it  behooves  him  who  would  boast  of  the  capt- 
ure of  a  large  trout  (and  it  is  a  thing  to  boast  of),  to  re- 
member, "  if  he  wants  to  catch  any  fish,  he  must  keep  his 
line  wet,"  and  be  patient  and  persevering.  His  vigilance 
must  never  flag,  ever  expecting  the  very  next  cast  may 
draw  the  wished-for  prize. 

The  eye  must  never  for  an  instant  stray  from  the  fly, 
and  at  the  slightest  commotion  in  the  water  near  where 
the  fly  is,  or  where  it  is  supposed  to  be,  strike  at  once 
and  strike  hard,  for  the  friction  of  the  water  on  the 
sunken  line  and  leader  will  neutralize  a  feeble  demon- 
stration. The  delicate  turn  of  the  wrist  of  the  books 
sounds  well  and  has  its  sphere  of  usefulness,  but  it 
is  not  here ;  therefore  I  say  again  strike,  strike  prompt- 
ly, and  strike  hard.  Or,  if  you  can  see  your  fly,  watch 
it  carefully,  and,  should  it  disappear,  strike  without  the 
loss  of  a  single  instant.  The  critical  period  is  during 
the  intermediate  pause  or  just  after  the  fly  again  begins 
to  move.  Not  infrequently  have  I  seen  at  this  stage 
of  the  cast  a  large  fish  rise  slowly  to  the  fly  and  take  it  ia 


364  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

As  far  as  feeling  him  was  concerned,  he  might  as  well 
have  been  in  another  county ;  then  the  eclipse  of  the  fly 
alone  indicates  that  he  has  it,  and  you  must  act  without 
the  delay  of  a  fraction  of  a  second  or  the  chance  is  gone. 

Locate  your  boat  first,  if  you  fish  from  a  boat,  as  is 
there  usual,  passing  over  barren  water  if  possible,  and 
as  slowly  and  noiselessly  as  though  paddling  up  on  a 
deer ;  or,  if  your  stand  is  ashore,  take  your  stand. 
Then  allow  some  minutes  to  elapse  that  any  alarm  oc- 
casioned by  your  approach  may  subside,  after  which 
begin.  Start  at  about  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet,  and  cast 
around  your  position,  directing  the  fly  at  each  cast  about 
six  feet  to  one  side  of  where  it  last  fell,  and  so  cover  the 
water  like  the  rays  of  a  fan.  When  one  circuit  has  been 
completed  without  a  rise,  lengthen  out  about  six  feet, 
and  beginning  at  the  same  starting-point  repeat.  Con- 
tinue this  until  you  have  all  the  line  out  you  can  cast 
perfectly  straight  every  time,  and  do  not  go  a  single 
foot  beyond.  Should,  however,  a  distant  rise  be  seen, 
yet  within  reach,  go  for  it,  but  in  the  following  manner : 
Lengthen  the  line  in  the  usual  way,  but  without  allow- 
ing the  fly  to  touch  the  water.  When  enough  line  to 
reach  is  out,  let  the  fly  settle,  and  elevating  the  point  of 
the  rod  well,  reel  slowly  in.  To  retrieve  the  line  by  the 
back  cast  will  be  impossible,  if  the  fly  is  left  long  enough 
in  the  water  to  tempt  the  fish.  I  repeat,  in  this  fishing 
more  than  any  other,  it  is  indispensable  to  success  that 
the  line  fall  absolutely  straight.  The  fish  will  not  hook 
itself,  nor  will  it  afford  time  to  gather  slack  line  before 
it  rejects  the  fly. 

Nor  should  discouragement  follow  because  success  is 
deferred.  Li  the  month  of  September,  as  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  observe,  these  large  trout  are  in  almost  con- 


FUea  and  Fly-fishmg,  365 

stant  motion,  slowly  cruising  about  some  fixed  locality 
which  they  have  selected  for  their  spawning  bed.  For 
an  hour  or  more  not  a  single  fish  may  be  within  reach, 
yet  the  next  ten  minutes  a  dozen  may  have  approached. 
Fishing  over  or  near  a  spawning  bed  is  worthy  only  of  a 
poacher,  in  the  opinion  of  most  anglers,  but  in  the  Range- 
ly  region,  during  June  and  September  alone  the  large 
fish  frequent  water  shallow  enough  to  subject  them  to 
the  temptation  of  the  fly.  But  twenty  days  of  the  latter 
month  are  available,  and  then  nature  has  thrown  about 
them  the  protection  of  a  most  fickle  appetite.  If  all  the 
large  fish  caught  in  the  month  of  September  were  fairly 
taken  with  bait  or  fly,  the  loss  would  be  but  trifling, 
while  the  annual  stream  of  ready  money,  which  the  often 
delusive  hope  of  taking  a  big  trout  brings  into  this  re- 
mote part  of  that  State,  otherwise  so  little  blessed  by 
nature,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  its  scanty  but 
deserving  population.  Therefore  the  State  of  Maine 
permits  fishing  till  the  first  of  October,  and  in  so  doing 
few  will  question  that  it  does  wisely. 

After  having  been  in  position  for  half  an  hour  or  so, 
if  in  a  boat  and  moderate  quiet  has  been  preserved — 
that  is,  if  there  has  been  no  concussion  upon  its  sides  or 
bottom — reel  in  short  and  try  close  to  the  boat,  particu- 
larly on  the  shady  side.  Here  let  your  fly  sink  pretty 
well,  and  draw  it  slowly  to  the  surface ;  for  the  fish 
love  the  shade,  and  are  apt  to  settle  there. 

The  foregoing  is  the  only  method  by  which  I  have 
ever  known  a  fish  of  over  four  pounds'  weight  to  be 
taken  with  the  fly.  Occasionally  one  may  rise  at  and 
take  a  fly  on  the  surface,  but  I  have  never  known  or  even 
heard  of  such  a  case.  I  have  heard  not  unfrequently  of 
Buch  rising  to  the  fly  of  an  angler  who  habitually  fished 


366  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

by  drawing  his  flies  over  the  water  in  the  usual  man- 
ner; but  on  investigation  it  has  invariably  appeared 
that  the  rise  took  place  after  he  had  become  discouraged, 
or  when  his  attention  was  elsewhere,  and  that  at  the 
time  his  flies  were  lying  idle  and  were  submerged. 

In  so  far  I  believe  I  express  the  unanimous  opinion  of 
the  guides  of  that  region.  We  now  enter  on  more  de- 
batable ground. 

I  strongly  prefer  one  fly  for  this  fishing  to  a  larger 
number.  When  first  struck  these  large  fish  seem  utterly 
uncontrollable  by  any  tackle  such  as  anglers  use.  Not 
that  they  move  so  rapidly,  for  their  motions  are  even  then, 
when  life  itself  is  at  stake,  rather  deliberate  ;  but  there 
is  a  power  in  them  that  seems  irresistible.  If  any  ob- 
struction is  near,  how  heartily  does  the  angler  then  wish 
he  was  rid  of  that  second  fly.  Besides,  these  large  flies 
are  difficult  to  retrieve,  if  they  are  allowed  to  sink  as  they 
should;  and  if  the  resistance  of  a  second  is  added  to  that 
of  the  first,  the  range  of  the  cast  is  considerably  dimin- 
ished. Still  there  are  times  when  a  second  fly  does  good 
service.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  take  a  smaller  fish  on 
one  fly,  and  for  him  to  tow  the  other  through  the  water, 
and  thus  tempt  and  actually  fasten  a  much  larger  fish. 
It  is  not  very  sportsmanlike,  but  when  large  trout  are 
known  to  be  within  sight  of  the  fly,  and  they  stubbornly 
refuse  to  be  tempted,  this  has  been  tried  with  success. 

What  flies  take  best  in  those  waters  ?  There  is  a  wide 
divergence  of  opinion  as  to  this;  still  I  will  give  my  own 
for  what  it  is  worth. 

My  first  favorite  is  the  "Parmacheene  Belle."  Per- 
haps I  am  too  partial  to  this  fly,  since  it  is  in  a  measure 
my  own  child.  John  and  I  seldom  fish  between  half- 
past  eleven  and  four  o'clock.     That  interval  is  passed 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  361 

prowling  about  the  woods,  or  shooting  at  a  mark  with  a 
rifle,  or  in  some  other  similar  way.  Often  the  fly- tying 
box  is  produced,  and  the  word  is,  "  Well,  John,  what 
shall  we  tease  them  with  this  afternoon?"  Thus,  on 
joint  suggestion,  very  many  different  combinations  have 
been  tried,  and  so  over  twenty  years  ago  was  the  "  Par- 
macheene  Belle  "  born.  It  was  a  success,  and  since  then 
I  have  used  it  four -fifths  of  the  time  when  fishing  the 
head-waters  of  the  Androscoggin  River.  It  somewhat 
resembles  the  "No  Name,"  figured  opposite  page  108  of 
Orvis  &  Cheney's  book,  "  Fishing  with  the  Fly."  The 
body  is  lemon-yellow  mohair,  wrapped  with  silver  tinsel; 
tail  two  to  four  strands  of  white  and  scarlet ;  hackle 
white  and  scarlet  (I  have  sometimes  wound  both  hackles 
on  at  the  same  time,  and  sometimes  the  white  first  and 
the  scarlet  afterwards,  and  over  the  white,  capping  it  as 
it  were ;  the  latter  is  the  better) ;  wings  white,  striped 
with  scarlet,  the  white  decidedly  predominating. 

Unless  I  am  deceived,  these  large  trout  take  the  fly 
not  as  an  insect,  but  as  some  form  of  live  bait.  If  this 
is  true,  an  imitation  of  some  favorite  form  of  food  is 
in  itself  sufficient  under  all  circumstances,  provided  it 
is  so  conspicuous  as  readily  to  be  seen.  To  test  this 
theory  the  fly  in  question  was  made,  imitating  in  color 
the  belly-fin  of  the  trout  itself. 

Place  the  whole  catalogue  of  known  flies  on  the  one 
hand,  and  this  single  fly  on  the  other,  and  force  me  to 
choose  and  confine  myself  to  that  choice,  and  for  fishing 
in  those  waters  I  would  choose  the  "  Parmacheene  Belle  " 
every  time.  I  have  tried  it  in  sunshine  and  rain,  at  noon- 
day and  in  the  gloaming,  and  at  all  times  it  has  proved 
successful. 

Twenty  years'  further  trial,  not  only  on  the  waters 


368  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

of  the  wilderness,  but  also  on  the  much -fished  ponds 
and  wading  -  streams  of  civilization,  where  small  flies 
and  fine  tackle  are  habitually  used,  have  but  confirmed 
my  predilection  for  this  fly.  If  I  am  correctly  informed, 
it  has  carried  the  name  of  dear  Parmacheene  even  to 
distant  New  Zealand,  and  is  there  a  favorite.  From 
No.  2  down  to  No.  12  it  seems  to  work  equally  well, 
provided  the  size  be  proportioned  to  the  special  re- 
quirements of  the  water  to  be  fished.  As  bought  in 
the  tackle  shops,  the  wing  usually  carries  too  much  red, 
and  the  yellow  of  the  body  is  too  deep.  The  silver  tin- 
sel should  be  flat,  of  moderate  width  as  compared  with 
the  size  of  the  fly,  and  not  tarnished. 

Indeed,  all  silver  tinsels  should  be  lackered  before 
use  in  fly-tying.  Silver  is  one  of  the  chemist's  tests  for 
sulphur,  the  least  trace  of  which  turns  the  metal  black. 
Where  coal  or  gas  is  burned,  sulphur  is  always  present 
to  some  extent  in  the  atmosphere,  and  neither  fly-books 
nor  the  receptacles  in  which  they  hibernate  are  air- 
tight. The  same  effect  is  produced  by  the  near  conti- 
guity of  rubber,  or  any  other  body  in  the  manufacture 
of  which  sulphur  has  been  used.  He  who  buys  a  new 
stock  of  silver  -  bodied  or  ribbed  flies  will  do  well  to 
lacker  the  silver  forthwith.  A  thin  alcoholic  solution 
of  shellac,  carefully  applied,  will  answer,  though  a  cellu- 
loid varnish  is  better,  if  not  too  thick. 

My  second  choice  is  the  "Silver  Doctor."  This  fly 
should  have  a  mixed  wing  of  yellow,  white,  scarlet,  and 
mallard,  not  a  wing  in  which  turkey  -  brown  predomi- 
nates. The  body  is  all  silver,  the  tail  yellow,  and  the 
hackle  blue,  capped  with  guinea-hen.  The  salmon  fly 
known  under  that  name  is  the  proper  type.  It  is  a  most 
astonishing  combination  to  that  angler  who  has  been 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  369 

accustomed  to  the  sad  tints  of  the  more  killing  flies  of 
the  Middle  States.  But  it  may  be  said  here  that  none 
of  the  taking  flies  of  the  Rangely  region  bear  the  re- 
motest resemblance  to  any  insect  there,  or,  I  believe, 
elsewhere  to  be  found.  Nay,  further,  imitations  of  the 
local  insects  are  there  comparatively  quite  unsuccessful. 

Next  in  my  favor  comes  the  salmon  fly  known  as  the 
"  Black  Dose."  Its  body  is  black  pig's-wool  or  mohair, 
ribbed  with  oval  silver,  black  hackle,  yellow  tail,  and 
mixed  wing,  with  jungle-cock  sides.  The  tail  should  be 
of  golden-pheasant  crest,  and  the  wing  should  be  topped 
with  a  larger  feather  of  the  same  kind.  In  dark,  low- 
ery  weather,  and  when  the  water  runs  somewhat  roily, 
with  a  whitish  color,  this  fly  has  many  a  time  done  me 
yeoman's  service  with  the  large  fish. 

Indeed,  I  am  indebted  to  this  fly  for,  or,  at  least,  as- 
sociate with  it,  one  of  the  pleasantest  episodes  of  my 
angling  experience. 

In  company  with  two  friends,  I  was  on  my  return 
from  an  expedition  to  Sitka,  Alaska,  in  which  we  had 
taken  in,  as  well  as  circumstances  would  permit,  the 
angling  as  well  as  the  sight  -  seeing  of  the  country 
traversed,  including  the  Nepigon  and  Columbia  rivers, 
Yellowstone  Park,  the  Canadian  National  Park,  and 
such  intermediate  waters  as  were  opportune. 

Some,  perhaps,  will  bear  reminding  that  the  Colum- 
bia River  heads  near  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
United  States,  flows  north  between  the  Rocky  and 
Selkirk  Mountains,  doubles  the  northern  end  of  the 
Selkirk  range,  and  then  runs  south,  across  the  bound- 
ary-line, through  Washington  and  Oregon  to  the  Pacific. 

We  had  arranged  for  the  exclusive  use  of  a  stern-^ 
wheel  steamboat,  one  of  the  sort  reputed  to  ask  no 
24 


370  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

ampler  facilities  for  navigation  than  a  heavy  dew.  As 
is  usual  in  this  type  of  boat,  the  motive  power,  freight 
conveniences,  and  crew,  occupied  the  main  deck  ;  while 
the  passengers  and  skipper  harbored  in  a  railway-car- 
like structure  upon  the  upper  deck.  We  were  to  em- 
bark at  Golden,  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and 
ascend  the  river  as  far  as  we  could  find  the  dew  suf- 
ficiently heavy. 

From  the  day  we  left  Yellowstone  Park,  all  the  way 
west  to  Tacoma,  by  way  of  Portland,  Oregon,  up  through 
Puget  Sound  to  Vancouver,  east  on  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  to  Glacier,  into  the  Selkirk  Mountains,  wild- 
goat  hunting,  and  again  on  the  railway  to  Golden,  four 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  east  from  the  Pacific  coast 
— over  all  this  vast  tract  of  country  hung  a  pall  of 
wood -smoke  from  forest -fires,  gray  and  depressing. 
The  magnificent  mountains  which  make  the  scenery  of 
this  region  "equalled  by  few  and  excelled  by  none" 
were  to  us  as  though  they  were  not,  the  smoke -fog 
blotting  out  everything  not  close  at  hand.  Though  we 
had  seen  it  all  before  under  other  and  more  favorable 
conditions,  we  were  none  the  less  in  sympathy  with  the 
dismal  character  of  the  visible  landscape,  for  to  a  lover 
of  the  woods  in  the  woods,  and  such  were  we  all,  the 
thought  of  a  forest-fire  is  as  the  thought  of  the  ravages 
of  small-pox  on  the  face  of  a  beautiful  woman. 

We  were  discharged  from  the  train  at  Golden  in  the 
early  evening,  and  as  the  smoke  blotted  the  surround- 
ing landscape  from  sight  we  saw  only  Golden,  and  saw 
it  with  undistracted  attention  purely  on  its  naked  mer- 
its. And  such  a  Golden!  A  small,  very  respectable 
little  railway  station,  two  two -story  frame  buildings, 
half  transient  lodging-house — conscience  forbids  to  say 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  371 

hotel — half  "  gin-mill,"  two  or  three  other  frame  build- 
ings not  "gin-mills,"  and  fifteen  or  twenty  scattered 
log-houses  and  cabins  made  up  the  metropolis.  And 
not  one  single  green  thing  in  sight — a  dismal  Golden! 
Why  is  it,  in  the  new  towns  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, where  timber  grows,  in  some  localities  grows  so 
magnificently,  that  the  pioneer  settlers  seem  to  know  no 
peace  of  mind  till  they  have  skinned  the  land  as  bare  of 
trees  as  the  back  of  one's  hand?  I  sometimes  think 
that  an  unrestrained  man  with  an  axe,  and  skilled  in  its 
use,  is  as  much  worse  than  a  small  boy  with  a  drum  as 
his  evil  deeds  are  more  lasting  in  effect. 

The  first  living  object  of  interest  we  saw  was  a  long- 
legged  Chinaman,  who,  impassive  in  face  as  a  sphinx, 
stalked  the  length  of  the  station  platform,  towing  his 
long  pig-tail  behind  him,  and  also,  by  a  less  visible  but 
apparently  no  less  secure  tenure,  a  small,  black  and  bare- 
headed Chinese  girl,  apparently  about  thirteen  or  four- 
teen years  old,  who  trotted  at  his  heels  as  a  dog  follows 
its  master.  The  station-master  informed  us  this  midget 
was  the  long-legged  Chinaman's  wife,  and  delivered 
himself  of  some  remarks  upon  the  Chinese  in  general, 
and  that  male  sample  in  particular,  which  left  the  hearer 
in  no  doubt  that,  if  he  possibly  did  regard  that  sample 
as  a  man,  he  certainly  did  not  look  upon  him  as  a 
brother. 

One,  and  but  one,  other  passenger  alighted  from  the 
train  —  a  nice-looking,  dove-eyed  girl  of  nineteen  or 
twenty,  evidently  a  mother's  girl,  and  apparently  thrown 
on  her  own  resources  for  the  first  time,  and  keenly  con- 
scious how  inadequate  those  resources  were. 

As  far  as  inspection  went,  it  was  a  case  of  Hobson's 
choice  between  the  two  rival  hostelries.  But  the  station- 


872  Fly -rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

master  thought  we  might  find  one  a  shade  better  than 
the  other,  and  to  that  one  we  went,  the  girl,  who  had 
listened  eagerly  to  his  cross-examination,  following. 

We  found  the  accommodations  not  so  bad,  and  also 
that  our  boat,  though  due,  had  not  returned  as  yet 
from  her  last  trip,  and  that  we  must  wait  for  her.  It 
was  supposed  the  dew  had  been  insufficient  somewhere 
up  the  river.  Having  removed  the  dust  of  travel,  we 
went  to  supper,  in  which  we  felt  the  angler's  customary 
deep  interest.  But  this  interest  soon  gave  place  to  a 
far  deeper  interest,  for  opposite  sat  our  fellow-traveller, 
vainly  endeavoring  to  eat,  while  tear  chased  tear  in 
quick  succession  down  each  side  of  her  pretty  nose. 
We  inferred  that  she,  too,  was  a  stranger  to  Golden  the 
dismal,  and  that  it  had  found  no  favor  in  her  sight — 
in  short,  that  she  was  homesick.  So  after  the  manner 
of  anglers,  at  any  rate  of  bachelor  anglers,  our  hearts 
became  as  wax  at  the  sight  of  girl's  tears,  and  we  cast 
about  to  devise  at  least  some  palliative,  if  not  a  remedy. 
Fortunately  our  party  was  well  equipped  for  such  an 
emergency,  since  at  its  head  stood  our  senior's  wife,  a 
lady  whose  tact  was  equalled  by  her  kindness  of  heart, 
while  our  junior  was  a  college  lad,  tall,  strong,  and  deb- 
onair, and  with  a  ready  zeal  in  the  service  of  a  pretty 
girl  difficult  to  exaggerate. 

We  soon  had  her  story.  She  lived  in  Victoria  on 
Vancouver's  Island,  had  never  been  from  home  before, 
had  received  the  appointment  of  school-mistress  at 
Golden,  and  had  come  to  take  the  place.  But  our  land- 
lord— a  big,  burly,  brutal,  red-headed  ruffian,  at  least  to 
the  eye — had  informed  her  that  he  was  one  of  the  school- 
board,  that  he  had  not  been  consulted  about  her  appoint- 
ment, and  that  he  would  be — not  blest — if  she  should 


Flies  and  Fly-fahvng,  373 

have  the  position.  Up  to  that  time  the  alternative  of 
idling  three  or  four  days  in  Golden  or  abandoning  our 
trip  up  the  Columbia  had  put  the  men  of  our  party 
deep  in  the  dumps.  But  now  life  had  a  fresh  interest, 
and  we  were  in  no  hurry.  We  would  beguile  that 
blatherskite  if  it  was  in  the  Book  of  Fate,  no  matter 
what  moral  obliquity  it  might  entail. 

So  after  our  lady  had  comforted  the  girl  to  the  best 
of  her  ability,  assuring  her  that  we  would  take  her  part 
and  that  our  powers  of  persuasion  were  such  that  we 
could  coax  a  cast-iron  image  into  dancing  a  gavotte  if 
we  chose,  our  junior  undertook  to  so  entertain  the  girl 
that  she  should  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to 
think,  while  we  other  men  moved  on  the  enemy's  works, 
wrath  and  disgust  in  our  hearts,  the  smile  of  dissimula- 
tion on  our  lips. 

If  to  think  one  thing  and  say  another  is  to  lie,  how 
we  did  lie  !  I  believe  Machiavelli  himself  would  have 
applauded  our  duplicity.  We  carefully  avoided  the 
school  business  that  evening.  Given  time,  and  the  wise 
and  wily  do  not  assault  the  citadel  until  the  outworks 
are  won  and  a  practicable  breach  is  made.  Our  interest 
in  the  business  outlook  of  Golden  was  marked.  If  he 
did  not  think  he  might  possibly  stick  us  with  a  mine  or 
two,  it  certainly  was  not  our  fault.  His  accommodations 
were  so  much  better  than  we  had  expected — how  did 
he  manage  so  well  in  a  place  so  remote,  etc.  We  even 
drank  his  rum  and  made  him  drink  with  us,  both  of 
which  I  still  think  showed  the  devotion  of  the  hero  to 
our  cause.  By  bedtime  we  were  in  a  position  to  report 
encouraging  progress. 

The  next  day  we  resumed  operations  along  the  same 
line  of  approach,  each  assuming  the  same  role.    Indeed, 


874  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

the  strong  inclination  of  our  junior  to  argue  the  matter 
with  a  good  sound  stick  of  fire-wood,  a  feeling  with 
which  we  could  but  sympathize,  unfitted  him  for  any 
but  his  old  part ;  for  however  desirable  such  an  active 
method  of  negotiation  might  be,  it  was  evident  that  it 
was  as  highly  inexpedient. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  before  the  afternoon  was  over 
we  had  him.  Though  as  vicious  as  a  bear  in  a  trap 
whenever  he  recalled  his  fancied  wrong,  in  which  he 
had  our  deepest  sympathy  in  words,  at  last  he  con- 
cluded that,  after  all,  it  was  not  the  girl's  fault,  and  that 
it  was  hardly  square  to  make  one  so  friendless  and  so 
far  from  home  suffer  for  the  misdeeds  of  others.  Not 
only  should  she  have  the  place,  but  he  would  take  her 
part  while  she  filled  the  place,  and  if  anybody  tried  to 
put  on  her  they  should  hear  from  him. 

The  beauty  of  it  was  that  he  seemed  to  have  not  the 
slightest  suspicion  that  we  had  any  part  in  his  change 
of  heart,  but  looked  upon  it  as  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  his  own  generosity  and  sense  of  fair  play,  which 
opinion  we  heartily  encouraged  and  metaphorically 
patted  him  on  the  back  as  a  bright  and  shining  example 
of  all  that  was  chivalrous.  And  we  celebrated  our  vic- 
tory with  drinks  all  round. 

But  the  best  came  last,  as  it  should  in  a  comedy. 
When  our  senior  spoke  of  how  troubled  the  girl  had 
been,  how  happy  she  now  would  be,  the  pleasure  it 
would  give  him  to  carry  her  the  good  news,  and  rose 
for  that  purpose,  our  landlord  interposed  a  prompt  veto. 
We  could  come  along  if  we  liked,  but  he  and  he  only 
was  to  do  the  talking.  And  he  did,  and  did  it,  too, 
with  a  rough  kindness  as  far  as  the  girl  was  personally 
concerned,  and  a  degree  of  ferocity  when  he  spoke  of 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  375 

any  possible  future  enmity  against  her  in  the  settle- 
ment, that  was  as  gratifying  as  it  was  unexpected. 
Indeed,  from  that  moment  his  marked  good-will  towards 
her,  and  the  active  interest  he  took  in  securing  her  the 
best  boarding-place  in  the  settlement  for  an  unprotected 
girl,  was  really  chivalrous.  For  though  sensitive  to  a 
supposed  slight  and  prompt  to  resent  it,  our  landlord 
really  hid  a  heart  of  gold  under  his  rough  exterior — a 
type  of  man  not  so  uncommon  in  the  wild  West. 

Well  may  the  reader  ask.  How  do  you  associate  all 
this  with  the  Black  Dose  fly,  with  reference  to  which 
you  introduced  this  somewhat  lengthy  episode?  The 
answer  is  that  the  recollection  of  a  good  deed  well 
done,  of  which  few  of  us  have  a  superabundance,  is  ever 
a  perennial  gratification,  and  that  this  fly  alone  did  me 
any  service  on  our  trip  up  the  river.  So  the  two  have 
become  so  associated  in  my  mind  that  I  seldom  use  the 
one  without  thought  of  the  other. 

Well,  we  went  up  the  river  in  our  heavy-dew  steam- 
boat— a  pea-soup-looking  river,  hopeless  for  fly-fishing, 
adorned  with  many  verdure  -  covered  islands,  flowing 
through  a  level  valley  five  or  six  miles  wide,  bounded 
by  the  mighty  Rockies  on  the  east  and  the  mightier  Sel- 
kirks  on  the  west.  Sometimes  the  banks  were  fringed, 
sometimes  covered  by  forest,  while  at  frequent  intervals 
we  came  upon  back-water  lagoons  abounding  in  wild 
ducks  and  geese,  overlooked  from  the  superstructure  of 
the  boat  wherein  we  were  quartered. 

It  was  great  navigation.  Crippled  by  a  recent  fall 
received  while  goat  hunting  in  the  Selkirks,  shore  ex- 
cursions were  not  for  me.  But  our  senior  and  junior 
were  in  fine  condition  and  simply  devoured  with  desire 
to  reduce  to  possession  some  out  of  the  myriads  of  ducks 


87#  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

and  geese  we  saw  disporting  themselves  on  the  bac"k 
waters.  When  a  pond  easy  of  approach  and  well  pop- 
ulated was  seen,  a  word  to  our  skipper  and  the  boat 
swung  into  the  bank.  Then  what  a  crashing  of  branches, 
snapping  of  twigs,  and  scattering  of  leaves  there  was, 
until  some  of  the  crew  leaped  ashore  and  tied  the  boat 
up  to  convenient  trees.  Then  a  gang-plank  was  run 
out,  and  away  our  gunners  went,  animated  with  the 
characteristic  Anglo-Saxon  desire  to  go  and  kill  some- 
thing, while  I  remained  behind  as  full  of  sighs  as  a 
boarding-school  girl  over  a  pathetic  novel. 

While  these  side-issues  were  in  progress  I  had  natu- 
rally inquired  about  the  fishing,  and  had  learned  that 
after  the  snows  ceased  melting  on  the  mountains,  and 
the  river  became  clear,  a  fish  they  called  a  "  char,"  and 
up  to  ten  and  twelve  pounds  in  weight,  might  be  taken 
in  abundance.  As  naturally,  I  earnestly  desired  a  per- 
sonal introduction  to  this  fish.  At  last  we  tied  up  at 
the  mouth  of  a  branch  stream,  which,  though  discourag- 
ingly  white  with  silt,  was  still  much  clearer  than  the 
river.  On  one  of  the  men  remarking  that  it  was  a  good 
place  for  char,  1  brought  my  rod  on  to  the  forward  deck 
and  began  to  string  up.  Evidently  my  style  of  fishing- 
tackle  was  new  to  the  men.  One  of  them  said  :  "  You 
don't  expect  to  catch  any  fish  with  that  rig,  do  you  ?" 
"  Oh,  no,"  I  replied  ;  "  I  thought  I  would  just  amuse 
myself  a  little  while  the  others  are  ashore."  Another 
said  :  "  Why,  if  you  really  want  to  see  those  fish  we 
will  catch  some  for  you."  Receiving  a  suitable  reply, 
they  \V^ent  ashore,  cut  some  poles,  and  attached  their 
lines,  baiting  with  some  pieces  of  a  wild  duck.  By  the 
time  I  had  strung  up^  had  studied  the  set  of  the  cur- 
rent, and  concluded  where  the  fish  were  likely  to  lie, 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing,  377 

and  had  ascertained  the  depth  of  the  water,  they  were 
ready,  and  we  began  to  fish  together. 

Obviously  the  color  of  the  water  indicated  a  Black 
Dose,  while  its  turbidity  made  surface  fishing  hopeless. 
So  with  a  No.  4  single  fly  I  longed  out  to  reach  an  eddy 
about  fifty  or  sixty  feet  distant,  let  my  fly  sink  until  I 
judged  it  to  be  near  the  bottom,  and  drew  the  line 
through  the  rings  with  my  left  hand,  thus  fishing  the 
fly  all  the  way  from  where  it  sank  almost  up  to  the 
boat.  The  shore  party  soon  returned,  but  by  that  time 
I  had  taken  five,  while  my  coadjutors  had  fastened  but 
one  fish,  which  they  promptly  proceeded  to  lose  in  the 
process  of  "derricking"  it  out.  The  angler  will  at  once 
perceive  that  their  bait  was  by  no  means  of  the  best, 
and  that  in  all  probability  they  were  unable  to  reach 
the  best  places.  But  they  did  not  seem  to  suspect  they 
were  handicapped.  Never,  apparently,  were  men  more 
astonished,  and  to  hear  them  talk  of  it  afterwards  it 
would  almost  have  been  thought  that  I  had  been  taking 
whales  from  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  with  a 
wheat  straw  and  a  strand  from  a  spider's  web. 

The  average  denizen  of  the  wilderness  has  a  very 
poor  opinion  of  a  city  man's  ability  to  do  anything  ex- 
cept wear  "store  "  clothes  and  spend  money.  While  he 
smiles  with  incredulity  at  all  verbal  professions  of  abil- 
ity to  do,  he  is  at  the  same  time  very  alive  to  the  logic 
of  observed  facts.  To  profess  at  the  outside  not  more 
than  25  per  cent,  of  what  one  feels  sure  one  can  accom- 
plish, is  nowhere  more  judicious  than  in  the  wilderness. 

Next  in  my  favor,  where  the  trout  run  large,  is  the 
well-known  "  Montreal,"  with  crimson  body  and  hackle, 
flat  gold  tinsel,  scarlet  tail,  and  brown  turkey — or,  bet- 
ter still,  brown  mallards-wing. 


378  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taclde. 

The  "Brown  Hackle,"  "Yellow  Professor,"  or 
"  Grizzly  King,"  all  too  well  known  to  require  descrip- 
tion, are  also  very  good  flies  for  the  wilderness.  If  the 
wings  of  these  are  made  of  two  separate  mallard  feathers, 
set  with  the  concave  side  outward  instead  of  in  the  usual 
manner,  they  are  greatly  improved.  In  the  air  such  a 
fly  is  not  attractive,  but  handle  it  by  a  series  of  shorty 
slow  jerks  a  little  below  the  surface  of  still  water,  and 
its  wings  will  open  and  shut  so  that  it  really  appears 
to  swim — a  process  which  seems  amazingly  to  strike 
the  fancy  of  large  trout. 

With  these  flies  I  consider  an  angler  well  equipped 
for  any  campaign  in  the  wilderness  where  the  trout  run 
large.  Greater  variety  is  unnecessary.  Nos.  4  and  6  are 
the  best  all-around  sizes  ;  but  when  the  water  is  very 
rough  and  the  fish  very  large.  No.  2  is  sometimes  more 
killing. 

And  here  let  me  caution  you  once  more,  if  you  pro- 
pose to  fish  these  waters,  or  any  others  in  which  large 
fish  may  be  had,  never  put  a  leader  to  your  line  which 
has  not  been  tested  since  it  was  last  dry  and  stiff.  Dry 
gut  will  crack  if  bent,  and  the  better  and  more  elastic 
the  gut,  the  greater  will  be  the  injury  caused  by  such  a 
mishap.  These  cracks  in  a  leader  defy  the  closest  in- 
spection, and  their  presence  or  absence  can  only  be  de- 
termined by  a  test  of  its  strength. 

In  these  waters  a  guide  is  essential  to  the  stranger  if 
he  wishes  good  sport;  for,  as  a  general  rule,  one  place, 
as  far  as  surface  indications  are  concerned,  looks  as  well 
as  another,  and  the  best  fishing  -  grounds  are  and  have 
been  discovered  only  by  actual  trial,  rod  in  hand.  These 
the  guides  know  of  course,  and  they  will  place  their 
sportsman  where  the  chances  are  then  best. 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing,  879 

Such  as  are  reasonable  in  their  expectations,  and  not 
over  conceited,  can  have  good  sport  in  this  region  ;  but 
let  me  strongly  advise  him  who  goes  there  for  the  first 
time,  at  least,  to  place  himself  in  the  hands  of  his  guide 
without  reserve.  Say  to  him,  in  such  terms  that  he  will 
not  doubt  your  sincerity,  that  you  are  a  stranger,  and 
propose  to  be  governed  as  to  where  and  how  you  fish, 
and  the  flies  you  use,  entirely  by  his  directions ;  that  he 
is  to  make  such  suggestions  as  he  thinks  proper  at  all 
times,  and  that  you  wish  him  so  to  do.  You  may  feel 
sure  your  confidence  will  not  be  abused,  and  that  he  will 
then  do  the  very  best  for  you  that  circumstances  will 
permit. 

June  and  September  are  the  best  months  for  fly-fish- 
ing, the  large  fish  being  taken  at  other  times  only  by 
deep  trolling,  or  still -fishing  with  bait  in  deep  water. 
Fly-fishing  is  not  commonly  practised  in  June,  but 
judging  from  a  single  experience  in  1883,  I  think  this 
a  mistake. 

But  little  has  been  written  on  the  development  of  vi- 
sion and  hearing  in  fish,  and  that  little  has  been  theory 
rather  than  deduction  from  actual  experiment.  My  own 
experiments  as  to  the  effect  that  sound  produces  on  trout 
(and  1  assume  that  all  fishes  are  more  or  less  alike  in  this 
respect)  have  been  confined  to  this :  Frequently,  when 
able  to  observe  a  trout  while  myself  unseen,  I  have 
screamed  and  shouted  at  the  top  of  my  voice.  These 
demonstrations  have  invariably  been  without  the  slight- 
est effect;  but  when  varied  by  a  concussion  which  could 
communicate  itself  to  the  water  this  has  no  longer  been 
the  case,  and  evidence  of  alarm,  or  at  least  that  the  con- 
cussion was  felt,  has  been  apparent.  In  an  English  work, 
the  name  of  which  I  in  vain  endeavor  to  recall,  an  account 


380  Fly-rods  (md  Fly-tackle, 

of  some  very  interesting  and  more  decisive  experiments 
are  given.  The  writer  caused  a  building  to  be  erected 
over  the  water,  and  made  his  observations  through  small 
apertures  constructed  for  the  purpose,  so  that  he  was 
quite  concealed.  His  trout  were  well  accustomed  to  the 
wiles  of  the  angler,  and  timid.  Sending  a  man  out  of 
sight  behind  the  building,  the  firing  of  a  gun  by  him 
produced  not  the  slightest  effect  on  the  trout,  who  rose 
freely  during  the  experiment  to  flies  blown  towards  them 
through  a  tube.  I  am  therefore  convinced  that  no  sound 
is  injurious  which  does  not  communicate  its  vibration  to 
the  water,  such  as  conversation ;  but  concussion  upon  the 
side  or  bottom  of  a  boat,  or  jumping  from  rock  to  rock, 
or  blows  upon  a  hard  bottom  with  the  wading-staff  or 
with  hobnailed  shoes,  I  think  are  so  conveyed  through 
and  by  the  water,  as  to  be  in  some  measure  perceptible 
to  the  fish,  and  alarm  them. 

That  fish  possess  the  sense  of  hearing,  their  anatomi- 
cal structure  goes  far  to  prove,  while  that  they  are  not 
insensible  to  sounds  produced  in  the  air  must  be  admit- 
ted, unless  the  doubter  is  prepared  to  call  in  question 
the  numerous  accounts  by  alleged  eye-witnesses  of  their 
coming  to  be  fed  at  the  sound  of  a  bell,  etc.  This  I, 
for  one,  hesitate  to  do,  notwithstanding  I  have  never 
been  able  to  make  a  sound  in  the  air  which  seemed  to 
produce  the  slightest  effect  on  trout  in  the  water — to 
which  fish  my  experiments  have  been  confined.  It  may, 
however,  well  be  that  the  sound  was  perceived,  while  the 
fish  were  so  habituated  to  the  roar  of  the  water -fall 
and  similar  noises,  without  any  ill  consequences  ensuing, 
that  sound  alone  was  not  regarded  by  them  as  an  indica- 
tion of  danger.       V— ^ 

To  what  extent  the  power  of  vision  is  developed  in 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  381 

trout  remains  to  be  considered.  To  the  angler  it  is  a 
question  second  in  importance  to  none,  since  upon  its 
answer  depends  a  more  or  less  perfect  solution  of  the 
problem — how  may  the  necessary  connection  between 
his  line  and  his  fly  be  best  disguised  ? 

Every  angler  has  heard,  or  taken  part  in,  discussion  of 
the  best  color  for  leaders;  and  if  it  be  permissible  to  judge 
of  the  experience  of  others  from  my  own,  the  result  has 
been  an  expression  of  doubt  by  one  as  to  whether  the 
color  makes  much  difference,  and  a  more  or  less  ready 
assent  to  this  on  the  part  of  the  others.  Never  has  the 
writer  met  any  definite  opinion  on  this  subject  based 
upon  anything  more  solid  than  a  guess. 

As  in  past  years,  so  every  evening  of  September,  1883, 
a  band  of  anglers  from  many  distant  cities  and  States 
gathered  around  the  camp-fire  at  Parmacheene  Lake,  in 
Maine,  several  of  them  artists  in  the  use  of  the  fly-rod, 
and  true  sportsmen  all ;  and  when  the  power  of  vision  of 
trout  and  the  best  color  for  leaders  came  up  again  and 
again  for  discussion,  and  always  with  the  same  negative 
result,  I  determined  that  before  the  next  season  I  would 
devise  some  method,  if  not  to  settle,  at  least  to  throw 
some  light  on  this  question. 

In  what  manner  and  with  what  apparatus  my  experi- 
ments should  be  conducted,  was  the  subject  of  grave 
consideration.  It  would  certainly  appear  at  the  first 
blush  that  to  immerse  the  eye  beneath  the  water  and 
then  to  look  upwards  was  the  surest  and  most  direct  way 
to  determine  how  a  leader  would  appear  to  the  trout,  for 
thus  the  natural  conditions  would  seem  to  be  exactly  re- 
produced. But  a  moment's  reflection  shakes  this  opin- 
ion. We  all  know  how  sensitive  is  the  human  eye  to 
any  foreign  body,  and  how  instantly  the  slightest  irrita- 


382  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

tion  of  the  exterior  affects  the  action  of  the  muscles 
which  control  the  focussing  power  of  the  lens  within, 
and  whose  office  it  is  to  form  the  image  upon  the  retina. 
We  also  know  that,  unless  these  muscles  duly  perform 
their  appointed  duty,  the  eye  is  as  powerless  to  convey 
to  the  brain  a  truthful  image  as  is  a  telescope,  the  dif- 
ferent lenses  of  which  have  not  been  relatively  adjusted 
to  distinct  vision.  We  have  all,  either  in  frolic  or  from 
necessity,  tried  to  see  through  a  pair  of  spectacles  to- 
tally unsuited  to  our  eyes,  and  we  all  know  the  result. 
Again,  though  the  mechanism  of  the  eye  work  perfectly, 
still  so  intimate  is  the  relation  of  its  various  parts,  so 
profound  their  sympathy  one  with  the  other,  that  the 
power  of  the  retina  to  receive  and  transmit  a  perfect 
image,  even  were  such  a  one  formed  upon  it,  may  well 
be  doubted  under  such  circumstances. 

A  gentleman  well  known  in  angling  circles,  and  an  ac- 
knowledged authority,  when  spoken  to  of  the  intended 
experiments,  said  that  it  was  all  useless ;  that  he  had 
tried  it  when  in  swimming;  that  everything  appeared 
black,  and  that  I  would  be  able  to  see  nothing.  Subse- 
quently another  gentleman  tried  submerging  himself 
below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  passing  gut  of  dif- 
ferent colors  before  his  eyes.  He  found  very  dark  gut 
alone  was  visible,  and  that  only  at  a  distance  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  inches.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  in  the  un- 
usual conditions  in  which  the  eyes  of  the  gentleman  first 
mentioned  were  then  placed,  they  refused  to  act  at  all; 
and  that  the  same  was  the  case  in  the  other  instance, 
though  in  less  degree,  and  that  the  same  will  be  the  case 
with  every  one's  eyes  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  under 
such  unusual  conditions,  I  cannot  doubt.  The  gentleman 
last  named  could  distinguish  only  very  dark  gut,  and  at  a 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  383 

distance  of  twelve  or  fifteen  inches.  It  is  absolutely  cer- 
tain that  had  his  eyes  acted  in  the  normal  manner,  noth- 
ing could  prevent  the  formation  of  a  perceptible  image, 
except  the  absorption  of  the  light  proceeding  from  the 
object  by  the  water.  As  the  water  was  clear,  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  a  stratum  of  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  was  quite 
inadequate  to  produce  that  result,  since  the  bottom  can 
be  distinctly  seen  in  only  moderately  clear  water  at  a 
much  greater  depth. 

That  the  eye  of  the  trout  is  different  from  ours  is  a 
frequent  remark.  That  it  is  different  in  size  and  differ- 
ent in  color  is  true ;  but  that  it  is  different  in  function, 
different  in  its  relation  to  the  reflection  and  refraction 
of  light,  is  a  mere  supposition,  resting,  I  believe,  as  at 
present  advised,  upon  no  foundation  whatever.  It  may 
be  more  sensitive  to  light  than  ours  ;  it  may  render  ob- 
jects visible  to  them  through  a  stratum  of  water  which 
would  totally  obscure  them  to  us.  But  even  this  I  know 
no  reason  to  believe,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  will 
here  occur  to  every  one  of  the  incessant  rise  of  trout 
long  after  the  shades  of  evening  have  fallen,  and  after  a 
fly  can  no  longer  be  distinguished  by  us  upon  the  water. 
The  difference  of  background  towards  which  they  look 
sufiiciently  accounts  for  this  to  my  mind. 

It  may  be  that  some  of  the  rays  composing  the  beam 
of  light  which  are  incompetent  to  excite  vision  in  us, 
and  of  the  presence  of  which  we  only  become  aware 
as  they  evidence  their  existence  by  heat  or  chemical 
action,  may  be  visible  to  them ;  but  if  we  are  prepared 
to  grant  this,  and  I  for  one  can  see  no  reason  so  to 
do,  it  but  prolongs  the  spectrum  in  one  or  both  direc- 
tions. It  is  too  improbable  even  for  mere  surmise,  in 
absence  of  direct  proof,  that  they  can  see  both  ends  of 


384  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

the  spectrum  while  the  middle  is  to  them  a  blank  ;  their 
every  action  in  reference  to  the  color  of  flies  negatives 
this. 

The  eye,  whether  of  fish  or  flesh,  is  but  a  lens  re- 
fracting rays  of  light,  and  converging  them  to  form  a 
picture  on  a  screen — the  retina.  In  this  respect,  and  as 
far  as  the  mechanical  principles  of  construction  are  con- 
cerned, it  has  its  exact  counterpart  in  the  camera  of  the 
photographer. 

Light  is  light,  and  by  its  aid  all  animated  beings  see, 
and  in  its  absence  all  alike  are  blind.  The  laws  of  nat- 
ure operate  equally  and  invariably  both  above  and  be- 
neath the  water;  and  until  it  is  demonstrated  to  be 
otherwise,  I  cannot  think  that  trout  see  in  any  different 
manner,  or  by  different  means  than  do  we.  There  is 
probably  a  difference  in  degree,  but  I  cannot  believe  in 
kind. 

Nor  is  this  a  matter  of  mere  surmise  unsupported  by 
evidence.  The  eye,  whether  of  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl,  up  to 
the  point  where  the  image  is  formed  upon  the  retina,  is  a 
mere  mechanical  arrangement,  the  effect  of  which  upon 
light  any  good  optician  can  compute.  That  a  mechanical 
arrangement  is  framed  by  the  hand  of  Nature  instead  of 
by  that  of  man,  is  sufficient  to  induce  many  to  believe, 
and  some  to  insist,  that  therefore  its  function  must  dif- 
fer in  some  mysterious  and  abnormal  manner,  and  un- 
bridled license  is  given  to  the  imagination.  In  this  spirit 
the  extent  of  the  visual  powers  of  fish  is  not  unfrequent- 
ly  discussed. 

But  in  point  of  fact  a  lever  is  a  lever,  whether  it  be  a 
crow-bar  in  the  hands  of  a  quarryman,  a  fly-rod  wielded 
by  an  angler,  or  a  bone  in  a  horse's  leg ;  and  the  action 
of  a  lens  upon  light  is  but  the  action  of  a  lens,  whether 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  385 

it  be  located  in  the  living  eye,  or  shaped  and  placed  by 
man  to  form  the  object-glass  of  a  telescope.  In  each 
and  every  similar  case  the  same  fixed  laws  determine 
the  effect  which  will  be  produced. 

The  human  eye,  if  in  its  normal  condition,  gives  dis- 
tinct vision  of  objects,  whether  distant  or  close  at  hand, 
and  this  not  by  any  mysterious  function  of  the  retina,  or 
the  nerves  which  convey  the  impression  to  the  briin,  or 
of  the  brain  itself,  but  by  a  simple  mechanical  adjustment 
of  the  lens  which  forms  the  image.  If  the  rays  of  light 
proceed  from  a  distant  object,  they  strike  the  lens  when 
substantially  parallel,  and  it  has  nothing  to  do  but  to 
converge  them  to  a  focus.  If,  however,  they  proceed 
from  an  object  close  at  hand,  they  then  strike  the  lens 
while  diverging,  and  must  first  be  made  parallel,  and 
afterwards  converged  to  a  focus,  before  a  distinct  image 
can  be  formed.  Obviously,  then,  the  focal  point  in  the 
second  case  will  be  farther  from  the  lens  than  in  that 
first  given.  In  the  telescope  this  is  adjusted  by  varying 
the  distance  between  the  object-glass  and  the  eye-piece, 
while  in  the  human  eye  an  involuntary  alteration  of  the 
convexity  of  its  lens  accomplishes  that  result.  Unless 
this  adjustment  is  possible,  the  human  eye  cannot  and 
does  not  give  distinct  vision  at  all  distances.  It  is  not 
possible  in  all  individuals,  and  then  near-sightedness  or 
far-sightedness  follows — the  aid  of  a  compensating  lens 
is  required  to  perform  this  adjustment,  and  spectacles 
must  be  employed.  If  the  anatomy  of  the  human  eye 
teaches  this,  and  it  is  beyond  question  that  it  does,  an 
examination  of  the  structure  of  the  trout's  eye  should 
give  at  least  some  indication  of  its  powers. 

The  lens  of  the  human  eye  has  the  ordinary  lens  form, 
and  is  a  little  more  convex  on  the  inner  than  on  the 
25 


386  Fly-Tods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

outer  side  ;  and  by  a  contraction  or  expansion  of  its  di- 
ameter, thus  changing  its  convexity  and  consequently  its 
refracting  power,  does  it  adapt  itself  when  in  health  al- 
ways to  form  its  focus — or,  in  other  words,  to  produce  a 
distinct  image — at  the  same  point,  the  retina. 

Does  the  eye  of  the  trout  possess  this  or  any  equiva- 
lent property  ?  It  does  not.  The  lens  is  as  spherical  as 
a  buck-shot,  and  of  a  consistency  so  indurated  as  appar- 
ently to  preclude  the  possibility  of  any  change  of  form. 
Therefore,  it  seems  to  me  trout  must  necessarily  be  quite 
near-sighted,  and  consequently  lack  the  power  to  distin- 
guish details  of  form  except  within  very  narrow  limits. 
And  it  is  believed  that  this  defect  in  vision  extends  more 
or  less  to  all  fishes  ;  for  though  I  have  myself  dissected 
the  eye  of  the  trout  and  one  other  variety  of  fish  only, 
still  the  treatises  on  comparative  anatomy  lead  me  to 
believe  that  the  eyes  of  all  are  constructed  in  substan- 
tially the  same  manner. 

All  this  was  believed  to  be  quite  true  when  written 
some  years  ago.  It  is  still  believed  to  be  quite  true. 
But  the  inferences  which  then  might  reasonably  be 
drawn  from  these  facts,  now  require  reconsideration 
and  limitation.  We  live  and  learn.  The  researches  of 
Beers  have  since  shown  that  the  eyes  of  fishes  do  pos- 
sess an  adaptability  which  gives  distinct  vision  at  all 
distances.  This  is  not  accomplished  by  change  in  the 
convexity  of  the  image-forming  lens,  as  in  man  and  the 
land  vertebrates  generally,  since  that  lens  in  the  fish  is 
so  indurated  as  to  preclude  such  change.  It  is  another 
illustration  of  the  truth  of  the  old  proverb,  "There  is 
more  than  one  way  to  skin  a  cat,"  and  is  accomplished 
by  moving  the  lens  itself  bodily  from  or  towards  the 
retina,  as  circumstances  may  require.     Thus  the  fish's 


Flies  and  FVy-fishifig,  387 

eye  is  identical  with  the  photographic  camera  in  its 
mode  of  adjustment  to  distance,  except  that  in  the 
camera  a  sharp  image  is  obtained  by  moving  the  plate- 
holder  (the  retina)  nearer  to  or  farther  from  the  lens, 
whereas  in  the  fish's  eye  the  retina  remains  stationary, 
and  it  is  the  lens  itself  which  is  moved.  The  conclusion 
seems  necessarily  to  follow  from  Beers's  researches  that 
the  vision  of  fishes  is  not  so  defective  as  anatomy  and 
optics  had  led  us  to  suppose.  Still  we  must  not  run  to 
the  other  extreme.  The  very  great  difference  in  the 
transparency  to  light  of  air  and  water  must  by  no 
means  be  overlooked,  a  difference  accentuated  by  the 
suspended  matter  which  unfiltered  water  always  con- 
tains in  considerable  quantity.  If  this  important  factor 
is  given  due  weight,  it  would  still  seem  that  the  vision 
of  fishes  is  quite  limited,  and  must  vary  markedly  with 
the  optical  purity  of  the  water  in  which  they  are  found. 

Is  not  the  action  of  trout  towards  the  artificial  fly  just 
what  this  would  lead  us  to  expect  ?  Place  the  natural 
insect  and  its  artificial  copy  side  by  side,  and  is  the  re- 
semblance suflSciently  close  to  deceive  the  human  eye  for 
a  single  moment?  Though  in  color  they  may  be  ap- 
proximately similar  —  as  to  form,  only  the  eye  of  char- 
ity can  detect  a  resemblance.  In  no  element  is  the 
struggle  for  life  so  bitter.  To  eat  others  and  to  avoid 
being  eaten  are  the  sole  occupations  of  the  greater  part 
of  a  fish's  life.  Constant  vigilance  against  the  approach 
of  their  many  enemies  is  with  them  the  price  of  life; 
therefore,  nothing  terrifies  them  so  much  as  motion,  and 
all  the  more  since  their  imperfect  vision  fails  accurately 
to  apprise  them  whether  the  moving  body  is  friend  or  foe. 

The  foregoing  applies  to  leaders  as  well  as  to  any 
other  moving  object;  and  since  at  some  point  between 


^88  Fly^ods  and  Fly-tackle. 

that  at  which  the  fly  is  first  perceived  and  the  fly  itself, 
the  leader  must  come  within  the  range  of  distinct  vision, 
the  advisability  of  concealing  it  as  much  as  possible  can- 
not be  questioned. 

True,  at  times  the  desire  to  eat  preponderates  over  the 
fear  of  being  eaten,  and  then  anybody  can  catch  trout  in 
almost  any  manner  that  appeals  to  their  appetite.  But 
the  art  of  fly-fishing  is  to  outwit  the  fish  when  in  their 
ordinary  mood  of  distrust,  not  for  the  angler  to  wait 
until  they  are  driven  to  desperation  by  the  pangs  of 
hunger.  To  take  one  trout  with  the  fly  under  adverse 
circumstances,  gives  more  pleasure  to  the  true  angler 
than  to  derrick  out  a  tubful  at  the  rate  of  one  every 
ten  seconds. 

The  prudent  man,  when  about  to  tempt  fortune,  pre- 
pares himself  to  meet  the  worst,  well  knowing  that  re- 
sources adequate  to  that  will  enable  him  to  triumph  over 
lesser  evils.  So  with  the  true  angler.  He  takes  it  for 
granted  that  the  fish  will  be  timid  and  disinclined  to 
feed,  and  prepares  his  tackle  to  meet  such  contingencies. 
Then  the  color  and  thickness  of  the  leader  may  be  of 
importance,  and  to  determine  if  possible  to  what  extent 
the  following  experiments  were  tried. 

On  reflection  it  seemed  that  while  the  leader  should 
be  inspected  from  the  same  direction,  and  against  the 
same  background  as  when  viewed  by  the  trout,  that  this 
must  be  done  with  the  eye  without  the  water,  and  that 
with  properly  constructed  apparatus  this  could  be  accom- 
plished and  reliable  results  be  obtained.  A  water-tight 
box  was  therefore  made,  twenty- eight  inches  long,  and 
six  inches  wide,  and  four  inches  in  the  remaining  direc- 
tion, all  inside  measurements.  One  end  was  closed  with 
a  thick  glass  plate,  while  the  other  was  left  open.    It  was 


F1a£s  amd  Fly-fishing.  881 

painted  a  dark  mud  color  within.  A  frame  was  provided 
in  which  the  box  could  swing  like  a  cannon  on  its  trunn- 
ions, and  so  arranged  that  though  the  normal  position  of 
the  box  was  perpendicular,  with  the  glass  below  and  the 
open  end  above,  yet  it  could  be  inclined,  and  the  upper 
end  directed  to  any  part  of  the  sky. 

For  the  purpose  of  experiment,  uncolored,  two  shades 
of  coffee-colored,  and  three  shades  of  mist-colored  (cop- 
peras and  logwood  dyed)  leaders  were  procured,  also 
three  samples  of  No.  4  enamelled  water  -  proof  ed  line, 
yellowish,  greenish,  and  brownish  in  color. 

The  box  was  filled  with  water,  the  samples  moved 
about  upon,  or  beneath  the  surface,  while  the  writer, 
with  his  head  and  the  glass  end  of  the  box  wrapped  in  a 
dark  cloth,  like  a  photographer,  directed  the  apparatus 
towards  the  sky  and  noted  the  results. 

From  viewing  the  under  surface  of  a  body  of  water 
contained  in  an  aquarium  through  the  lower  portion  of 
its  glass  sides,  it  was  expected  that  the  under  surface  of 
the  water  in  the  box  or  tube  might  look  like  a  mirror, 
and  vision  of  anything  above  the  surface  be  cut  off. 
Such  was  not  the  case.  Objects  above  the  surface  could 
be  seen  distinctly  as  through  a  glass  window. 

The  variously  colored  leaders  were  all  alike  conspicu- 
ous to  a  surprising  degree,  so  much  so  as  to  cause  won- 
der that  a  fish  should  ever  rise  to  anything  connected 
with  them,  and  this  whether  above,  on,  or  below  the  sur- 
face. It  seemed  as  though  the  coffee-colored  leader  was 
the  most  visible,  but  otherwise  one  could  not  be  told  from 
the  other,  all  difference  of  color  seeming  to  be  lost.  Then 
some  drawn  mist-colored  leader  was  tried,  quite  dark  in 
tint  and  as  fine  as  a  hair.  Though  about  as  plain  to 
sight  as  a  pencil-mark  on  white  paper,  yet  it  was  ap* 


390  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tachle. 

parent  that  its  small  diameter  made  a  great  difference 
in  its  favor. 

During  all  this  the  idea  was  gradually  gathering  force 
that  these  experiments  only  tended  to  show  how  the  ob- 
ject appeared  when  viewed  by  a  fish  lying  directly  be- 
neath it ;  and  upon  trying  some  flies,  and  finding  that 
only  with  difficulty  could  the  most  gaudy  be  distinguished 
from  those  sober  in  color,  the  box  was  dropped,  and  light 
sought  in  another  direction. 

A  bath  -  tub  of  considerable  size,  its  length  facing  a 
window  and  the  sky,  was  filled  with  water  to  the  depth 
of  fourteen  inches.  Two  mirrors  were  submerged  in  the 
water,  one  at  each  end  of  the  tub,  and  so  inclined  that 
by  looking  down  upon  them  the  reflected  image  of  any- 
thing in  or  upon  the  water  could  readily  be  seen.  A 
joint  from  a  rod  was  used  to  manipulate  the  leader  to  be 
experimented  with,  and  by  moving  it  to  and  fro  in  the 
water,  it  could  be  viewed  at  almost  any  degree  of  ob- 
liquity. 

Here,  again,  the  results  were  a  surprise.  Though  I 
have  habitually  used  a  colored  leader,  still  I  had  supposed 
color  was  of  questionable  utility.  Such  seemed  not  to  be 
the  case.  The  coffee  color  was  still  the  most  conspicu- 
ous, but  it  was  but  little  more  so  than  the  natural-colored 
gut,  which  latter,  in  all  positions  and  angles,  looked  like 
a  streak  of  silver.  The  mist-colored  leaders,  in  some  posi- 
tions, had  the  same  appearance,  but  always  it  seemed  in 
a  less  degree;  while  at  times,  and  at  certain  angles  and 
directions  of  motion  with  reference  to  the  light,  they 
seemed  more  or  less  to  disappear.  The  darkest  tinted,  a 
decided  azure,  gave  the  best  result.  I  was  unable  to  de- 
termine with  satisfactory  certainty  in  what  positions  in 
reference  to  light,  etc.,  this  partial  or  total  disappearance 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  391 

took  place.  It  certainly  did  seem  that  when  the  leader 
was  moved  towards  the  light  it  shone  the  most,  and  by 
the  refraction  of  transmitted  light,  and  I  attributed  the 
better  result  given  by  the  darker  leader  to  its  greater 
opacity  to  such  light.  A  piece  of  iron  binding  -  wire, 
black  in  color,  and  of  course  totally  opaque,  and  of  about 
the  same  diameter  as  the  leaders,  was,  however,  plainly 
visible  in  all  positions,  though  not  more  so  than  uncol- 
ored  gut.  Indeed  I  incline  to  think  that  at  all  times  the 
least  conspicuous  leader  that  can  be  made  may  be  plainly, 
seen  from  some  directions,  while  at  the  same  time  invisi- 
ble from  others. 

Here,  again,  I  was  impressed  by  the  great  difference 
in  result  caused  by  varying,  the  diameter.  This  dimen- 
sion appears  in  the  water  to  be  much  enlarged,  and  my 
experiments  are  emphatic  as  to  the  utility  of  fine  tackle. 
This  was  demonstrated  beyond  question  by  the  drawn 
gut,  i.e.,  gut  drawn  through  a  plate,  which,  as  before 
stated,  was  quite  dark  in  color  and  hair-fine. 

The  various  samples  of  line  were  all  equally  visible — 
"plain  as  a  pikestaff" — and  not  the  slightest  difference 
in  favor  of  one  over  the  other  could  be  detected. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  appearances  described 
are  those  shown  by  reflection  in  the  mirrors,  also  that  all 
the  gut  used  was  of  the  same  diameter. 

But  these  experiments,  conducted  in-doors  as  they  nec- 
essarily were,  and  therefore  with  the  light  coming  from 
but  one  direction,  were  not  satisfactory. 

A  tin -lined  tank  was  therefore  constructed,  five  feet 
long,  fourteen  inches  wide,  and  fourteen  and  a  half  inches 
deep,  measured  on  the  inside.  Where  the  bottom  met 
one  end,  the  wood  was  cut  away  to  form  an  aperture 
three  inches  high  and  the  width  of  the  tank,  and  a  plate 


892  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacJcLe. 

of  glass  was  inserted,  inclining  slightly  inward  from  the 
perpendicular.  The  tank  was  painted  a  dark  slate  color 
without  and  within.  It  closely  resembled  a  coffin  with 
parallel  sides,  and  its  advent  excited  considerable  inter- 
est both  in  the  neighborhood  and  in  the  household  itself, 
since  it  was  delivered  in  my  absence,  and  I  had  thought- 
lessly omitted  to  give  any  intimation  of  its  expected  ar- 
rival. A  stand  was  also  provided,  which,  when  the  tank 
was  placed  upon  it,  raised  its  bottom  about  three  and 
a  half  feet  from  the  ground. 

The  whole  apparatus  was  set  up  in  the  back-yard,  dis- 
tant forty  feet  from  the  house,  which  bore  nearly  east 
from  it.  To  the  westward  the  nearest  building  was  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  distant,  while  to  the  north 
and  south  there  were  none  nearer  than  several  hundred 
feet.  Thus  the  tank  was  located  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
the  middle  of  the  space  enclosed  within  an  ordinary  city 
block  of  houses,  and  perfectly  open  to  the  sky.  Its  length 
lay  nearly  north  and  south.  From  about  half-past  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  about  five  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon it  was  unshaded  from  the  sun. 

Having  filled  the  tank  with  water,  the  first  problem 
attacked  was  to  determine  how  trout  see  objects  above 
the  water.  That  they  were  able  so  to  do  I  had  often 
seen  demonstrated,  not  always  to  my  entire  satisfaction. 

As  heretofore  intimated,  if  any  one  will  look  through 
one  of  the  side  glasses  of  an  ordinary  aquarium,  and  up- 
ward towards  the  surface  of  the  water,  they  will  find  that 
surface  to  resemble  polished  silver,  and  to  be  totally 
opaque  to  vision.  Objects  lying  above  it  are  as  invisible 
as  though  a  stone  wall  intervened.  Or  the  experiment 
may  be  more  conveniently  tried  with  one  of  those  thin 
uncut  glass  tumblers  now  in  fashion.    Half  fill  one  with 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishvng.  393 

water,  and  stand  a  spoon  in  it.  When  held  above  the 
eye  and  viewed  at  any  angle  through  the  sides,  the  de- 
scribed appearance  of  the  surface  and  the  utter  invisi- 
bility of  that  portion  of  the  spoon  uncovered  by  the 
water  will  be  noted.  But  when  viewed  directly  through 
the  bottom,  the  surface  will  then  appear  transparent,  and 
objects  beyond  it  can  easily  be  seen. 

Enveloping  my  head  and  the  glass  with  a  black  cloth, 
that  no  light  might  enter  from  below  (a  course  invari- 
ably followed  in  all  my  experiments  with  this  tank),  I 
carefully  examined  the  surface  of  the  water.  It  ap- 
peared perfectly  opaque,  until  happening  to  cast  my 
eyes  directly  upward,  I  saw  a  clear  and  transparent 
space  bounded  on  one  side  by  the  end  of  the  tank,  and 
on  the  other  by  a  curved  line  strongly  fringed  with 
prismatic  color.  In  this  clear  space  the  windows  of 
houses,  distant  two  hundred  feet  and  more,  could  readily 
be  seen,  clothed,  as  was  every  object  visible  within  it, 
with  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  This  unexpected 
appearance  of  color  seemed  to  discredit  the  directions 
of  the  books  that  the  clothing  of  the  angler  should  be 
sober  in  hue,  since  no  matter  how  quiet  his  clothing,  it 
appeared  he  must  look  to  the  fish  as  though  arrayed  like 
Solomon  in  all  his  glory.  But  subsequent  reflection  con- 
vinced me  that  this  phenomenon  was  due  to  a  lack  of 
parallelism  between  the  surfaces  of  the  glass  and  of  the 
water.  This  gave  to  the  body  of  water  through  which 
the  object  was  viewed  the  form  of  a  truncated  prism, 
to  the  well-known  action  of  which  upon  light  I  attribute 
the  presence  of  the  colors. 

The  transition  from  that  portion  of  the  surface  which 
was  transparent  to  that  which  was  opaque,  was  quite 
abrupt.    With  thirteen  inches  depth  of  water,  the  curved 


894  Fly-rods  and  Fly-taclde. 

boundary  line  was  part  of  a  circle  having  a  diameter  of 
twenty  inches.  The  diameter  of  this  circle  for  any 
depth  of  water  may  readily  be  computed  by  the  follow- 
ing proportion:  Assuming  five  feet  to  be  the  required 
depth,  for  the  purpose  of  illustration  ;  then  13  :  20  :  :  60 
(five  feet  reduced  to  inches)  :  to  answer,  92^^  inches,  or 
nearly  eight  feet.  These  measurements,  though  not  sci- 
entifically accurate,  are  within  a  fraction  of  an  inch  of 
the  truth,  and  therefore  sufficiently  near  for  practical 
purposes. 

The  following  diagram,  in  which  the  relative  propor- 
tions are  carefully  preserved,  embodies  the  foregoing. 


/ 


Fig.  86. 


A  represents  the  tank  ;  B  the  glass  ;  C  the  water-level 
at  the  time  ;  and  D  the  position  of  the  division  between 
the  transparent  and  the  opaque  portions  of  the  surface. 

The  effort  was  next  made  to  determine  how  far  above 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing,  395 

the  surface  of  the  water  an  object  must  be  at  a  given 
distance,  to  render  it  visible  within  the  circle ;  or  in 
other  words,  to  determine  the  limits  within  which  refrac- 
tion would  produce  this  result.  For  this  purpose  a  red 
rag  was  used.  It  was  placed  on  the  water-level  at  the 
extreme  end  of  the  tank,  thus  being  five  feet  (accurately 
four  feet  ten  and  a  half  inches)  from  the  observer.  It 
was  then  slowly  raised,  as  nearly  as  possible  perpendicu- 
larly, till  it  began  to  appear  within  the  edge  of  the  trans- 
parent circle.  This  took  place  at  an  elevation  of  five 
inches  from  the  surface ;  whence  I  conclude  that  anything 
over  ten  inches  above  the  surface  for  every  ten  feet  of 
distance,  will  be  visible. 

Herein  we  find  the  reason  why  experience  has  shown 
the  advantage  of  wading  over  fishing  from  the  bank; 
or  when  fishing  from  a  boat,  that  it  is  better  to  cast  sit- 
ting rather  than  standing. 

Though  theoretically  we  all  know  that  an  object  seen 
within  this  circle  cannot  appear  in  its  true  position,  still 
perhaps  it  is  not  generally  realized  how  extensive  this 
apparent  displacement  really  is. 

In  the  preceding  illustration  E  represents  the  actual 
position,  and  F  the  position  of  the  red  rag  as  it  ap- 
peared to  me  during  the  preceding  experiment.  As 
the  body  seen  approaches  more  and  more  nearly  to  a 
position  immediately  above  the  trout,  this  apparent  dis- 
placement uniformly  diminishes  in  extent,  until,  when 
on  the  perpendicular,  it  ceases  altogether  and  the  body 
appears  in  its  true  position,  since  there  is  then  no  refrac- 
tion at  all. 

We  have  all  cast  in  vain  upon  unruffled  waters,  and 
prayed  for  a  ripple,  and  we  have  all  noticed  the  marked 
change  of  luck  which  followed  its  advent.     The  reason 


396  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

of  this  was  apparent  at  once.  For  on  disturbing  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  in  the  tank,  even  though  but  little,  the 
transparent  place  at  once  disappeared,  and  the  surface 
became  entirely  opaque  throughout,  thus  completely  cut- 
ting off  all  vision  of  any  object  above  it.  Since  this 
made  little  or  no  difference  in  the  visibility  of  fly  or 
leader  when  in  actual  contact  with  the  water,  I  cannot 
doubt  that  the  result  in  question  is  due  to  the  cause 
assigned.  It  would  therefore  appear  that  when  the  water 
is  roughened  by  a  breeze,  the  angler  may,  without  disad- 
vantage, consult  his  convenience  as  to  whether  he  will 
wade  or  stand  when  casting ;  also  that  when  the  ripple 
is  local,  that  it  is  advisable,  other  things  being  equal,  to 
cast  into  it,  even  though  its  area  be  quite  limited. 

The  shadow  of  a  moving  fly-rod  was  distinctly  and 
conspicuously  visible  through  the  glass  and  water,  as  a 
dark  streak  moving  upon  the  surface,  and  this  whether 
the  latter  was  smooth  or  roughened. 

It  would  require  undue  space,  and  be  but  confusing 
to  the  reader,  should  I  separately  detail  each  experiment 
on  the  visibility  of  leaders,  extending  as  they  did  over 
months,  and  including  almost  every  hour  of  the  day  and 
condition  of  sky.  I  therefore  merely  describe  how  my 
experiments  were  conducted,  and  the  conclusions  deduced 
therefrom. 

At  first  the  tank  was  painted  dark  slate  color  within 
and  without ;  subsequently  the  interior  was  changed  to 
a  mud  color,  formed  by  a  mixture  of  brown  and  green 
paint.  For  some  time  different  colored  leaders  were 
tested  and  compared  in  pairs.  Each  was  weighted,  and 
suspended  perpendicularly  in  the  water  by  an  assistant  at 
the  farther  end  of  the  tank.  They  were  then  gradually 
brought  nearer  the  observer  until  one  became  visible,  if 


F1m8  omd  Fly-fishing.  397 

neither  could  be  seen  before,  and  the  distance  noted  with 
such  remarks  as  seemed  appropriate.  Then  they  were 
moved  to  and  fro  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  the 
relative  excellence  of  each  written  down. 

Subsequently  a  square  brass  frame  was  constructed, 
corresponding  in  size  to  the  cross  section  of  the  interior 
of  the  tank.  Each  end  of  the  upper  edge  was  provided 
with  an  extension,  which  rested  on  the  upper  edge  of  the 
tank  and  retained  the  frame  where  placed.  Across  this 
frame  silkworm  gut  of  various  colors  was  stretched,  like 
the  bars  of  a  gridiron.  This  frame,  bearing  the  gut  to  be 
tested,  was  at  first  placed  perpendicularly  in  the  tank  and 
parallel  with  the  ends,  and  the  visibility  of  each  strand 
was  noted.  Then  it  was  moved  six  inches  nearer  to  the 
observer,  and  the  result  again  recorded;  and  so  on,  mov- 
ing the  frame  but  six  inches  at  each  step,  until  all  could  be 
plainly  seen.  The  frame  was  then  returned  to  the  start- 
ing-point, and  the  lower  end  raised  until  it  was  about 
two  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  in  which 
position  it  was  secured  by  a  wire  hook.  The  frame  was 
then  supported  upon  the  extensions  to  its  upper  edge, 
which  rested  on  the  rim  of  the  tank,  and  the  wire  hook 
sustaining  the  lower  edge.  Since  the  upper  edge  was 
above  the  surface  of  the  water  and  quite  close  to  it,  it 
was  invisible,  and  the  various  strands  of  gut  appeared  to 
enter  the  water  and  lie  at  quite  an  acute  angle  with  it. 
The  intention  was  to  reproduce  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
position  ordinarily  assumed  by  that  portion  of  a  leader 
to  which  the  tail-fly  is  attached.  Ten  different  colored 
strands  were  stretched  upon  this  frame  and  compared, 
viz. :  black,  dirty  olive-green,  pea-green,  dark,  medium, 
and  light  neutral  tint  (copperas  and  logwood),  ink-dye, 
darker  and  lighter  coffee  colored,  and  uncolored.     The 


898  FVy^ods  cmd  Fly-tacTcle. 

tank  was  filled  with  Ridgewood  water  (Brooklyn,  New 
York),  which  was  quite  clear.  Subsequently  this  was 
browned  with  a  concentrated  and  filtered  decoction  of 
coffee,  and  finally  milk  was  added  to  give  the  turbidity 
of  roily  water,  such  as  is  seen  upon  the  subsidence  of 
a  stream  after  a  freshet. 

I  deduce  from  my  experiments  the  following  conclu- 
sions :  All  leaders  are  visible  when  directly  over  the  fish, 
and  in  a  degree  entirely  irrespective  of  their  color.  Here 
diameter  alone  affects  the  result.  This  dimension  always 
appears  to  be  much  enlarged  when  the  leader  is  in  con- 
tact with,  or  below  the  surface  ;  and  if  it  is  at  all  ad- 
vantageous to  conceal  the  connection  between  the  fly 
and  the  line,  the  thinnest  practicable  gut  should  be  em- 
ployed. 

Except  at  twilight,  all  leaders,  when  viewed  obliquely 
through  clear  water,  are  visible  through  a  stratum  of 
two  feet  or  less,  but  the  color  makes  considerable  dif- 
ference in  their  obtrusiveness. 

Whether  the  water  is  shaded  or  not  affects  these  re- 
sults but  slightly,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  a  gloomy 
or  lowering  sky. 

The  under  side  of  the  surface  forms  the  background 
against  which  the  leader  is  viewed,  and  as  it  contrasts  or 
harmonizes  with  the  apparent  color  of  this,  so  is  it  more 
or  less  conspicuous.  On  the  surface  the  bottom  is  re- 
flected, and  its  color  modifies,  in  a  degree  diminishing 
as  the  depth  increases,  that  received  from  the  sky. 

With  clear  water  the  following  results  were  obtained; 
A  dark  leader,  irrespective  of  its  color,  should  not  be 
used.  The  black  gut  was  invariably  the  first  that  came 
into  sight,  closely  followed  by  dark  olive  -  green  and  a 
dark  neutral  tint.     At  any  time  of  the  day,  and  with 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  399 

any  light,  the  black  could  always  be  seen  through  a 
stratum  of  water  which  utterly  eclipsed  the  lighter  tints ; 
and  this  was  equally  true  of  the  olive-green  and  dark 
neutral  tint,  except  that  in  the  twilight  they  appeared  to 
less  disadvantage. 

When  the  rays  of  the  sun  fell  perpendicularly  upon 
the  water,  or  nearly  so,  say  from  ten  to  three  o'clock, 
nothing  gave  a  better  general  result  than  uncolored  gut. 
True,  occasionally  it  shone  like  silver,  and  then  nothing 
could  be  plainer ;  but  this  did  not  take  place  in  all  po- 
sitions, and  except  at  such  times  it  had  a  decided  advan- 
tage over  the  others,  and  even  at  its  worst  it  was  at  no 
great  disadvantage. 

He  who  will  devise  means  to  destroy  the  glitter  of 
the  surface  of  gut  will  deserve  the  thanks  of  the  angling 
fraternity.  I  regret  circumstances  have  prevented  me 
from  trying  Mr.  Fred  Mather's  method  of  applying  the 
juice  of  the  milk- weed  for  this  purpose. 

The  fact  that  the  sun  was  obscured  did  not  seem  to 
destroy  the  advantage  of  the  uncolored  gut  between  the 
hours  mentioned ;  but,  except  with  a  rain  sky,  at  other 
times  uncolored  gut  was  far  inferior  to  all  the  others  ex- 
cept the  black;  indeed  it  was  at  times  difficult  to  say 
which  of  the  two  was  the  most  obtrusive,  both  being  visi- 
ble the  entire  length  of  the  tank. 

I  can  attribute  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of  un- 
colored gut  to  nothing  but  the  direction  in  which  the 
light  falls  on  the  water.  When  the  sun  is  perpendicular 
or  approximately  so,  it  seems  to  be  at  its  best;  while  as 
the  rays  fall  more  and  more  obliquely  on  the  water,  it 
becomes  more  and  more  conspicuous, 

A  light  coffee  color  (obtained  by  infusing  the  gut  in  a 
strong  decoction  made  by  boiling  red  onion-skins  in  wa- 


400  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

ter)  almost  equalled  the  uncolored  gut  at  its  best,  while 
apparently  far  less  dependent  on  the  direction  of  the  light. 
For  general  use  at  all  times,  particularly  over  a  light-col- 
ored bottom,  I  incline  to  think  it  one  of  the  best  of  colors. 

If  however,  leaders  of  but  one  color  are  to  be  used  at 
all  times,  unquestionably  that  color  should  be  a  light 
shade  of  ink  -  dye  —  that  given  by  "  Arnold's  Writing- 
fluid  "  diluted  with  an  equal  quantity  of  water. 

This  always  and  at  all  times  gave  a  good  result,  while 
it  took  the  first  place  in  merit  oftener  than  any  other 
one  color.  Over  a  neutral  tint  (copperas  and  logwood) 
of  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  shade,  it  had  quite  a 
decided  advantage.  It  was  at  its  worst  in  the  middle  of 
the  day. 

A  pea -green  strand  also  gave  an  excellent  average. 
Though  it  could  at  times  be  seen  when  some  of  the  oth- 
ers could  not,  it  was  never  obtrusive.  I  believe  this 
would  have  given  better  results  had  it  been  a  shade  or 
two  lighter  in  tint.  For  meadow-brook  fishing  it  should 
be  excellent — perhaps  unequalled. 

The  preceding  comparisons  of  the  various  colors  re- 
late solely  to  clear  water. 

A  change  in  the  color  of  the  water  was  followed  by 
altogether  different  results.  A  very  strong  decoction  of 
coffee  was  prepared ;  it  was  then  further  concentrated 
by  protracted  boiling,  and  finally  filtered  through  paper. 
This  was  added  to  and  mixed  with  the  water,  until  I 
thought  it  as  brown  as  any  bog  trout- stream  I  had  ever 
seen.  The  color,  as  seen  in  the  tank,  was  quite  marked, 
while  in  a  clear  tumbler  a  faint  tinge  of  brown  was  just 
noticeable.  I  have  done  considerable  fly-fishing  in  such 
waters,  and  no  pains  were  spared  to  reproduce  the  natu- 
ral color  faithfully. 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing.  401 

The  results  obtained  on  the  clear  water  were  here  re- 
versed. All  the  lighter  colored  leaders  were  at  a  decided 
disadvantage,  the  uncolored  gut  being  the  most  visible, 
while  the  black  was  least  so,  and  this  irrespective  of  the 
time  of  day,  and  sun  or  shade.  The  dark  olive  and  dark- 
er neutral  tint  gave  almost,  but  not  quite,  as  good  results, 
and  in  the  order  named.  No  leader  could  be  seen  through 
more  than  three  and  a  half  feet  of  water.  The  uncolored 
gut  was  invariably  the  first  to  appear,  closely  followed 
by  both  of  the  coffee-colored.  1  had  supposed  the  latter 
would  prove  excellent  in  brown  water,  but  such  was  by 
no  means  the  case,  since  at  all  times  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances these  were  nearly  as  objectionable  as  the  un- 
colored, and  far  more  so  than  the  other  light  colors.  The 
pea-green  was  the  next  to  appear.  The  ink-dyed  leader 
gave  very  fair  results,  but  still  inferior  to  darker  shades. 
The  fact  that  the  uncolored  leader  could  always  be  seen 
at  more  than  double  the  distance  at  which  the  black  first 
began  to  be  visible,  illustrates  the  relative  merits  of  the 
two. 

Here  also  may  probably  be  found  the  reason  why  large 
and  brighter  colored  flies  are  required  in  such  waters. 
Having  completed  my  experiments  with  the  browned 
water,  it  was  next  rendered  turbid  by  adding  a  little 
milk.  To  imitate  the  condition  of  a  stream  on  the  subsi- 
dence of  a  freshet,  and  when  its  water  had  begun  to  clear, 
though  still  perceptibly  roily,  was  the  object  in  view. 
This,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  determine,  was  successfully 
accomplished,  yet  no  leader  could  be  seen  through  more 
than  eight  inches  of  the  water,  even  at  noonday  and  with 
an  unclouded  sky. 

Nothing  surprised  me  more  than  the  difference  in  ob- 
trusiveness  shown  by  different  specimens,  so  nearly  alike 
d6 


402  Fly-Tods  amd  Fly-tackle. 

in  shade  and  color  in  the  air  as  to  require  careful" in- 
spection to  distinguish  between  them.  This  was  marked 
in  comparing  the  ink-dye  and  the  lighter  neutral  tint 
(copperas  and  logwood).  The  intensity  of  color  in  both 
was  almost  exactly  equal,  while  the  neutral  tint  was 
somewhat  duller  on  the  surface.  For  this  reason  I  had 
always  supposed  the  latter  to  be  less  obtrusive,  but  I 
cannot  doubt  I  was  mistaken.  I  was  the  more  pleased 
with  this  result,  since  to  obtain  the  ink-dye  color  the  gut 
can  be  dyed  cold,  and  with  less  trouble  and  less  loss  of 
strength  than  where  copperas  or  heat  is  required.  The 
relative  merits  of  the  two  can  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  sometimes  the  neutral  tint  was  visible  through  a 
foot  more  water  than  the  other. 

For  years  events  have  been  gradually  forcing  me  to- 
wards the  opinion  that  success  in  fly-fishing  (particularly 
where  the  fish  were  educated  to  the  angler's  wiles),  de- 
pended as  much  upon  concealing  the  connection  between 
the  line  and  the  fly  as  upon  any  other  one  thing.  We 
have  all  cast,  time  and  time  again,  without  a  rise,  where 
we  knew  the  fly  was  seen  by  trout  every  time  it  touched 
the  water.  We  have  then  changed  and  changed  our  cast, 
yet  all  in  vain.  We  have  all  seen  a  trout  rise  to  the  fly, 
approach  it  closely,  and  then  turn  from  it,  and  revert 
whence  he  came.  Under  these  trying  circumstances  per- 
mit me  to  suggest  that  after  the  cast  has  been  varied  a 
reasonable  number  of  times  without  success,  that  the 
leader  be  changed  to  one  of  a  different  color.  I  feel  con- 
fident that  in  many  cases  this  will  solve  the  difficulty. 

For  the  guidance  of  the  beginner  I  suggest  the  follow- 
ing rules,  based  on  what  I  believe  to  be  the  teachings  of 
the  preceding  experiments.  Provide  yourself  at  least 
with  uncolored  and  ink-dyed  leaders,  some  of  light  tint. 


Flies  and  Fly-fishing,  403 

and  some  very  dark ;  and  if  a  meadow-stream  is  to  be 
fished,  or  water  in  which  an  appreciable  quantity  of  green 
floating  matter  is  present,  then  with  green  leaders  as 
well.  Under  the  latter  conditions  begin  and  end  with 
the  green  leader,  unless  lack  of  success  indicate  that  a 
change  is  advisable  or  will  make  no  difference. 

If  the  water  appears  brown -colored  use  your  darkest 
colored  leader  at  all  hours.  To  produce  this  the  ink  may 
be  used  undiluted,  for  you  need  not  fear  to  get  it  too 
dark. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  of  clear  water,  commence 
with  a  lighter  ink-dyed,  varying  to  the  uncolored  about 
half-past  ten  in  the  forenoon,  and  returning  to  the  first 
from  three  to  four  o'clock. 

If  trout  are  present,  and  persistently  refuse  to  rise  after 
changing  your  cast  a  reasonable  number  of  times,  vary 
the  color  of  the  leader,  no  matter  what  it  may  have  been. 
Finally,  be  not  deceived  by  the  way  the  leader  appears 
as  you  look  down  upon  it,  for  this  gives  little  or  no  indi- 
cation of  its  visibility  when  viewed  from  underneath. 

Nine  varieties  of  enamelled  water  -  proofed  line  were 
tested,  viz. :  light  pea-green,  Paris-green  with  black  spiral 
thread,  light  green  with  a  brown  spiral  thread,  translu- 
cent with  reddish-brown  thread  in  close  spirals,  white  and 
brown  in  equal  proportions,  translucent  with  green  and 
red  spiral  thread,  white  with  black  spirals,  white  with 
black  threads  in  diamond  pattern,  and  white  with  brown 
threads  in  diamond  pattern.  All  these  were  quite  visi- 
ble. The  least  obtrusive  was  a  line  which  seemed  to 
have  been  braided  from  white  silk  with  two  black  threads 
passing  spirally  around  it  in  opposite  directions,  thus 
forming  a  black  diamond-shaped  pattern  upon  the  white 
ground.    The  water-proofing  had  given  to  the  white  silk 


404  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

a  translucent  color  of  a  faint,  dull,  greenish  tinge.  The 
next  in  order  of  merit  seemed  to  be  the  pea-green. 

The  question  is  often  asked  from  how  far  below  the 
surface  can  a  trout  see  a  fly. 

To  this  question  I  sought  an  answer  from  Mr.  John  W. 
Chittenden,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  of  that  very  intel- 
ligent class  of  men,  the  submarine  divers. 

I  showed  him  a  "fin -fly"  (white  wing  and  crimson 
body),  tied  on  a  hook  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  across 
the  bend.  He  said  that  in  clear  salt  water  such  a  fly 
could  be  seen  on  the  surface  from  a  depth  of  fifty  feet, 
and  that  it  would  then  look  larger  than  it  did  as  he  held 
it  in  his  hand.  He  instanced  a  case  where  he  was  work- 
ing on  a  w^reck  in  sixty-five  feet  of  water,  when  he  easily 
read  the  name  on  the  stern  of  the  wrecking  -  schooner 
floating  overhead,  as  well  as  the  marks  on  the  packing- 
cases  as  they  were  hoisted  over  its  side,  when  they  were 
five  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  These  marks 
and  letters  were  about  three  inches  long.  He  remem- 
bered seeing  the  end  of  a  rope  half  an  inch  in  diameter 
attached  to  one  of  those  cases  as  it  was  hoisted  aboard 
the  wrecking-schooner. 

At  these  depths  the  surface  took  its  color  from  the  sky, 
uninfluenced  by  the  bottom,  looking  white  with  a  white 
sky,  and  dark  inky-blue  with  a  blue  sky.  A  surface  wind 
made  no  difierence  in  the  visibility  of  objects  in  the  water 
or  on  its  surface,  but  with  a  heavy  ground-swell  the  water 
was  sometimes  so  turbid  that  objects  but  a  few  feet  dis- 
tant were  obscured. 

Fresh  water  was  not  generally  as  clear  as  sea  water, 
particularly  in  rivers  where  there  was  a  current.  The 
surface,  he  said,  looked  very  near,  so  that  when  he  was 
at  a  depth  of  fifty  feet  it  seemed  almost  within  reach  of 


Flies  cmd  Fly-fishing.  405 

his  hand.  The  shadows  of  moving  objects  were  plainly- 
visible,  whether  the  surface  was  smooth  or  rough.  A 
clear  white  or  a  red  could  be  seen  the  greatest  distance. 
When  sixty  feet  below  the  surface  he  had  read  the  fine 
print  of  a  testament  from  the  cargo  of  a  wreck  he  was  at 
work  upon. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  at  work  on  an  asphaltum  bed 
at  the  bottom  of  Cardenas  Bay.  The  asphaltum  was 
found  between  strata  of  white  clay,  which  it  was  the 
custom  to  loosen  by  light  blasting,  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  removal  of  the  asphaltum.  Worms  occurred  in  this 
clay,  of  which  the  fishes  of  the  vicinity  were  very  fond. 
Holding  one  of  these  worms  between  his  fingers,  and 
stirring  up  the  clay  until  the  water  was  so  turbid  that 
his  hand  was  quite  invisible,  he  could  feel  the  fishes  rub- 
bing against  his  fingers  and  tugging  at  this  worm.  By 
what  sense  they  were  then  guided  to  their  food  is  an  in- 
teresting question.  That  they  had  become  accustomed 
to  regard  this  turbidity  as  a  call  to  dinner,  and  that  there- 
after they  were  directed  by  smell  to  their  food,  suggests 
itself  as  one  explanation. 

But  from  whatever  depth  trout  may  be  able  to  see  a 
fly,  I  have  never  seen  reason  to  suppose  they  could  be 
coaxed  to  rise  to  one  from  the  bottom  in  depths  exceed- 
ing nine  or  ten  feet.  That  in  clear  water  they  can  see  it 
much  farther,  particularly  if  in  motion,  is  probable,  even 
though  the  details  of  its  form  may  be  obscure. 

But  we  all  know  they  are  peculiar  creatures  and  full 
of  whims,  and  one  of  these  seems  to  be  reluctance  to 
move  any  great  distance  for  their  food.  Perhaps  experi- 
ence has  taught  them  that  it,  too,  is  endowed  with  life, 
and  that  it  may  be  gone  before  they  can  reach  it.  A  fact 
within  the  observation  and  experience  of  every  angler 


406  Fly^ods  cmd  Fhj-taclde. 

seems  to  confirm  this  view,  since  we  all  know  that  if  a 
trout  rises,  and  we  wish  him,  the  fly  should  be  cast  nearly 
or  quite  over  him,  without  touching  the  water  at  any  in- 
termediate point. 

But  however  this  may  be,  one  thing  seems  certain,  and 
that  is,  that  neither  the  angler  nor  the  trout  are  anything 
like  as  acute  as  is  generally  supposed.  The  wiles  of  the 
former  are  by  no  means  so  well  concealed,  nor  are  the 
latter  so  very  quick  to  perceive  them.  The  hook,  unless 
very  small,  they  can  always  see,  and  the  leader,  when 
within  a  foot  or  two  of  it.  Again  and  again  have  I  won- 
dered during  these  experiments  how  was  it  possible  ever 
to  deceive  a  fish,  so  prompt  to  take  alarm,  by  a  humbug 
so  transparent. 


It  would  seem  that  the  most  promising  way  to  ascer- 
tain how  lines,  leaders,  and  flies  appear  to  the  fish,  is 
that  indicated  in  my  preface.  To  this  I  call  special  at- 
tention in  the  hope  that,  should  I  fail  in  the  future,  as  I 
have  in  the  past,  to  carry  out  this  investigation,  some 
other  may  do  so. 


MisceUcmeous  Suggestions.  407 


CHAPTER  XL 

MISCELLANEOUS    SUGGESTIONS. 

No  method  of  fly-fishing  possesses  the  charm  of  wading. 
Through  scenes  where  Nature  shows  her  utmost  loveli- 
ness the  trout-stream  takes  its  way,  itself  a  jewel  mir- 
roring in  its  bosom  every  detail  of  its  faultless  setting. 
Deep  shadows,  gemmed  with  specks  of  sunshine,  cover 
the  water.  Stately  trees,  graceful  ferns  and  flowers,  and 
mossy  rocks  line  its  banks.  Every  turn  of  the  stream  is 
a  new  picture,  varied  in  detail  but  uniform  in  beauty — 
at  once  the  delight  and  the  despair  of  the  artist.  The 
cool  damp  air  gives  new  life  and  vigor  to  lungs  charged 
with  the  foul  vapors  of  city  life,  while  over  all  the  mur- 
mur of  the  living  water  proclaims  here  is  peace. 

It  may  happen  to  the  angler  to  wander  far,  and  cast 
his  fly  upon  many  waters.  But  no  matter  what  success 
attends  his  efforts  elsewhere,  his  memory  still  delights 
to  linger,  above  all,  on  the  quiet  beauties  of  those  happy 
days,  when  youth  and  he  wandered  hand -in -hand  to- 
gether down  the  murmuring  stream.  Not  only  is  it  in 
every  way  the  most  delightful,  since  every  sense  is  fed, 
but  it  is  at  the  same  time  the  most  artistic  method  of 
fly-fishing. 

He  who  thinks  to  have  much  sport  with  the  fly  at  the 
expense  of  the  trout  of  the  much  fished  brooks  and 
streams  of  the  New  England  and  Middle  States,  must 
bring  every  resource  of  his  art  to  bear,  and  that  from  a 


408  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

well-stocked  arsenal.  Civilization  in  its  onward  march 
educates  trout  as  well  as  men,  and  many  an  angler  whose 
catch  in  the  wilds  of  Maine  is  only  limited  by  his  de- 
sires, could  hardly  take  enough  in  the  waters  first  men- 
tioned to  impart  a  smell  to  his  creel. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  tell  when,  where,  and  how  to 
fish  these  waters,  since  that  has  already  been  fully  de- 
scribed by  no  less  a  master  than  Thaddeus  Norris  him- 
self, as  well  as  many  other  and  lesser  lights  of  the  gentle 
art.  I  frankly  admit  I  can  improve  in  nothing  on  what 
they  have  said.  But  some  practical  hints  what  to  do 
that  the  sport  of  the  present  may  be  unalloyed  with  in- 
jury to  the  health,  and  pain  in  the  future,  may  perhaps 
not  be  amiss. 

Firstly,  the  clothing  should  be  sober  gray  in  color,  that 
if  possible  the  suspicious  game  may  mistake  the  motions 
of  the  angler  for  the  waving  of  some  branch  of  a  forest- 
tree  wooed  by  the  summer  wind.  Upon  the  feet  low 
heavy  shoes  should  be  worn,  studded  on  the  soles  and 
heels  with  a  few,  and  but  a  few,  soft  hobnails ;  or  bet- 
ter still,  those  small  round-headed  nails  sometimes  seen 
in  cowhide  boots.  As  these  wear  smooth  they  should  be 
removed  and  new  ones  substituted. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  give  your  personal  attention  to 
this,  for  the  heart  of  the  average  shoemaker  is  modelled 
on  his  own  lapstone.  In  vain  will  be  your  order  to 
put  in  but  a  few,  and  delusive  his  promise  to  comply. 
Either  he  revels  in  the  use  of  hobnails,  or  his  idea  of  "  a 
few"  is  complied  with  as  long  as  any  portion  of  the 
sole  is  visible  between  their  heads.  It  is  not  alone  to 
the  cohesion  of  iron  with  stone  that  the  benefit  derived 
from  the  use  of  hobnails  in  wading  is  due,  but  also  to 
the  interspaces  thus  formed  in  the  bottom  of  the  solcj 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions.  409 

engaging  with  the  inequalities  of  the  rocky  surface  with 
which  it  is  brought  in  contact.  If  the  nails  are  used  in 
excess,  the  shoes  then  practically  become  paved  with 
iron,  and  the  second  element  of  safety  is  lost.  It  will 
be  long  before  I  forget  how  myi  thoughts  were  directed 
to  this  problem. 

It  was  in  May,  many  years  ago,  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
stream  was  at  that  time  a  strong  one,  almost  too  strong 
for  wading  unless  great  circumspection  was  used.  In 
many  places  it  was  impassable,  while  elsewhere  so  dark- 
colored  was  the  water,  that  the  use  of  a  graduated  wading- 
staff  was  necessary  to  inform  the  angler  whether  he  was 
venturing  into  two  feet  of  water  or  twenty. 

That  law  of  nature  which  makes  the  most  inaccessi- 
ble places  invariably  seem  the  most  desirable  in  fishing, 
tempted  me  to  leap  from  rock  to  rock  till  I  was  well  out 
towards  one  of  the  deeper  parts  of  the  stream.  It  was 
not  a  difficult  job,  for  the  bowlders  used  as  a  bridge 
were  large  and  not  widely  separated.  At  last  my  goal, 
a  large  flat  rock  sloping  gently  downward  towards  the 
desired  pool,  was  before  me.  My  shoes  were  well  paved 
with  hobnails,  rather  worn  it  is  true,  but  not  enough  to 
impair  my  confidence  in  them.  I  stepped  upon  that  rock, 
where  I  proposed  to  stop.  Too  late  I  found  its  surface 
was  coated  with  a  gray  lichen,  indistinguishable  from  the 
natural  color  of  the  stone,  and  more  slippery  than  ice 
itself.  Slowly  and  steadily,  but  with  a  constantly  ac- 
celerating velocity,  I  found  myself  skating  downward 
towards  the  apparently  unfathomable  pool  below,  a  help- 
less victim  of  misplaced  confidence.  Then  I  thought 
unutterable  things,  among  the  least  of  which  were:  How 
deep  was  the  water  below  ? — should  I  be  obliged  to  aban- 
don my  rod  ? — could  I  get  rid  of  my  creel,  already  quite 


410  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

heavy  with  fish? — and  how  much  would  the  watchmaker's 
bill  be?  But  before  a  satisfactory  solution  to  any  of 
these  questions  could  be  reached,  the  rock  came  to  an  end, 
or  rather  I  came  to  the  end  of  it,  and  dropping  over  the 
brink,  stood  up  to  my  chin  in  the  inclement  pool  below. 
Before  I  had  walked  the  three  miles  which  intervened 
between  the  scene  of  the  immersion  and  my  temporary 
home,  I  had  given  considerable  thought  to  the  question 
of  a  secure  footing  in  wading.  And  by  the  time  I  had 
paid  for  a  new  fly -book,  and  the  watchmaker  had  in- 
fused new  life  into  my  watch  and  his  demands  had  been 
satisfied,  I  had  absorbed  a  strong  prejudice  against  hob- 
nails. Since  then  the  small  round-headed  nails  before 
alluded  to  have  been  my  dependence  in  wading,  and  they 
have  never  played  me  false. 

I  have  never  since,  while  angling,  encountered  a  rock 
so  treacherous  as  that  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I  believed 
it  unique  until  last  fall. 

John  and  I  were  returning  from  a  trip  of  several  days' 
duration,  having  gone  north  through  the  woods  from 
Parmacheene  Lake  into  Canada,  then  east  to  the  head- 
water of  Dead  River,  then  down  the  Seven  Pond  Valley 
to  Kennebago  Lake,  and  we  were  now  bound  across-lots 
back  to  Parmacheene.  Our  way  had  been  through  an  un- 
broken forest,  a  large  portion  of  the  time  relying  on  the 
compass  and  sun  alone  to  direct  our  steps,  where  no  in- 
dication^ showed  that  white  men  had  ever  before  set  foot. 
We  had  backed  our  heavy  packs  to  the  very  summits 
of  the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  Boundary  Range,  and  follow- 
ing the  ridge  for  miles,  had  seen  stretching  away  into 
space  the  gap  through  the  otherwise  unbroken  wilder- 
ness which  marks  the  dividing  line  between  Canada  and 
the  United  States.     More  than  forty  years  before,  and 


Miscdlaneovs  Suggestions.  411 

when  the  boundary  was  laid  out,  a  lane  two  rods  wide 
was  cut  through  the  woods,  following  the  water  -  shed 
which  separated  the  waters  flowing  into  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  from  those  discharging  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
This  was  the  treaty  boundary;  and  to-day  the  old  forest 
rises  on  either  side  of  the  new  and  stunted  growth  which 
has  filled  the  gap,  as  the  houses  rise  on  either  side  of  a 
city  street,  nor  is  the  one  more  clearly  marked  than  the 
other.  It  is  not  without  emotion  that  one  gazes  for  the 
first  time  on  this  scar  upon  the  face  of  nature,  otherwise 
without  a  blemish,  especially  should  he  chance  upon  one 
of  the  small  cast-iron  obelisks  which  mark  it  at  irregular 
intervals,  and  bear  in  raised  letters  the  words  "  National 
Boundary-line."  Then  for  the  first  time  he  fully  realizes 
what  his  surroundings  have,  till  then,  seemed  utterly  to 
deny,  that  civilized  man  has  been  there  before. 

But  it  was  not  for  this  that  we  had  toiled  so  far,  for  to 
us  it  lacked  the  charm  of  novelty.  Our  eyes  sought  and 
rested  on  Megantic,  Rush,  and  Spider  Lakes,  and  the  set- 
tlements of  Canada  which  fringed  the  wilderness  on  the 
north;  on  the  Dead  River  County  and  the  Seven  Pond 
Valley,  an  unbroken  forest,  gemmed  with  lakes,  to  the 
east ;  and  to  the  south  and  west  upon  a  sea  of  mountains, 
range  following  range  like  the  billows  of  the  ocean,  each 
range  a  different  color,  to  where  Mt.  Washington,  and 
Owl's  Head  on  Lake  Memphremagog,  lay  dim  and  shad- 
owy on  the  distant  horizon. 

From  the  first  we  had  recognized  that  from  Kenneba- 
go  Lake  to  Parmacheene  would  be  the  most  difficult  part 
of  the  trip,  for  it  was  utterly  unknown  ground,  and  many 
mountain  ranges  and  one  river  barred  the  way.  We  were 
unable  to  gain  any  information  either  as  to  the  distance 
to  be  traversed,  or  how  the  natural  obstacles  could  be 


412  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

best  surmounted ;  so  it  was  with  some  surprise  I  heard 
John  answer  an  inquiry  as  to  how  we  were  to  cross  the 
river,  by  saying,  in  the  most  off-hand  way,  we  would  cross 
on  the  rocks  at  the  Big  Falls — a  place  which  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  a  dozen  men  in  the  whole  country  had  ever  seen, 
and  which  he  himself  had  visited  but  once,  and  then  in 
winter.  However,  we  took  to  the  woods  one  morning 
before  seven  o'clock,  John  with  forty-one  pounds  on  his 
back  and  a  nine -pound  rifle  in  his  han/3,  and  I  with 
twenty-five  pounds  in  my  pack  and  my  tin  rod-case,  con- 
taining two  rods,  which  I  used  as  a  staff.  We  climbed 
West  Kennebago  Mountain  two-thirds  to  its  summit — 
that  mountain  over  whose  perfect  cone,  so  soft  and  ver- 
dant, thousands  of  anglers  on  the  Rangely  Lakes  have 
raved,  yet  whose  sides  we  found  one  mass  of  crags, 
chasms,  and  windfalls,  which,  with  the  heavy  grade, 
made  the  most  cruel  travelling  for  a  loaded  man  I  have 
ever  seen — and  finally,  after  a  forced  march,  without  halt 
except  for  breath,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we 
heard  the  welcome  roar,  and  struck  out  of  the  woods  di- 
rectly upon  the  desired  spot.  The  falls  were  before  us. 
Among  gigantic  bowlders  the  river  foamed  and  roared  in 
a  series  of  moderate  pitches,  interspersed  with  dark  pools, 
till  a  bend  some  distance  below  hid  it  from  sight.  We 
had  crossed  the  greater  part  of  the  stream  without  diffi- 
culty, when  we  came  to  a  rock  about  the  size  of  a  two- 
story  cottage,  sloping  gently  down  to  a  pool,  which 
looked  uncommonly  dark  and  wet.  A  ledge  about  two 
feet  wide  broke  the  uniform  descent  a  short  distance  from 
the  top.  John  paused,  and  said,  "  These  rocks  are  pretty 
slippery.  You  will  probably  have  no  trouble  with  your 
hobnailed  shoes,  but  as  I  have  none,  perhaps  you  had 
better  hold  the  rifle  while  I  climb  down  to  the  ledge." 


Miscelkmeous  Suggestions,  4ia 

He  did  so,  and  after  passing  him  the  rifle  I  essayed  to 
follow.  It  by  no  means  appeared  difficult,  but  before  I 
had  completed  the  second  step  the  tin  rod-case  was  clat- 
tering down  the  rock  towards  the  pool,  and  I,  half  sitting 
and  half  lying  on  my  pack,  was  gliding  in  the  same  di- 
rection. The  situation  was  somewhat  serious,  for  unless 
I  could  get  my  knapsack  off  after  I  was  in  the  water,  I 
would  undoubtedly  be  drowned  like  a  kitten  tied  to  a 
brick.  However,  John  managed  to  "  neck  "  me  as  I  went 
by,  and  gaining  a  footing  on  the  ledge,  we  worked  our 
way  around  to  a  safer  descent,  rescued  the  rods,  and  sat 
us  down  to  lunch  on  the  rocks,  two  very  leg- weary  men. 

"We  then  discussed  the  hobnail  in  all  its  bearings,  and 
rendered  a  unanimous  verdict  in  favor  of  the  small  round- 
headed  nails.  For  when  worn  at  all,  the  former  presents 
a  flat,  polished  surface,  good  perhaps  where  no  safeguard 
is  required,  but  worse  than  useless  in  a  critical  place; 
while  the  latter,  from  the  smallness  and  shape  of  the 
head,  are  far  more  prompt  to  engage  with  slight  inequal- 
ities; and,  at  the  same  time,  the  weight  being  thrown  on 
so  much  smaller  and  sharper  surfaces,  they  will  cut 
through  lichen  or  dried  slime  much  more  readily  to  the 
rock  beneath.  Therefore  they  seem  to  me  unquestiona- 
bly safer,  as  they  certainly  are  lighter,  and  more  easily 
inserted  and  replaced. 

I  am  aware  that  the  larger  part  of  the  foregoing  is 
pure  digression,  and  that  no  proper  apology  can  be  found 
for  its  introduction  into  a  book  on  angling,  unless  it  be 
that  the  incidents  occurred  during  a  trip  one  object  of 
which  was  to  try  unfamiliar  waters.  Yet  I  must  beg 
further  indulgence.  The  merits  of  that  tin  rod-case  de- 
mand recognition.  It  was  simply  a  piece  of  ordinary  tin 
leader  of  one  and  a  quarter  inch  bore,  closed  at  the  bot- 


414  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTde. 

torn,  and  provided  with  a  brass  screw  cap.  A  simple  linen 
rod-bag  went  with  it.  Stowing  the  detached  handle  in 
my  pack,  two  butts,  three  middle  joints,  and  four  or  five 
tips  were  placed  in  this  bag,  and  tied  up  so  they  could 
not  chafe.  The  tin  case  readily  held  the  whole.  Not 
only  did  I  find  it  a  most  convenient  walking-staff  through 
over  seventy -five  miles  of  foot  travel,  all  of  it  with  a 
pack  on  my  back,  and  much  of  it  without  even  a  sign  of 
a  trail,  but  also  after  our  return  it  lay  day  and  night  in 
our  boat,  containing  spare  rods  and  tips,  all  of  which  it 
kept  perfectly  dry  and  in  good  order  through  rain  and 
shine.  The  first  cost  is  next  to  nothing,  while  its  further 
superiority  over  the  ordinary  bamboo  tip-case,  in  its  in- 
difference to  weather  and  far  greater  carrying  capacity, 
have  led  me  to  resolve  never  to  go  into  the  woods  again 
without  one.  Nor  am  I  alone  in  this  opinion,  for  it  was 
the  subject  of  constant  and  invariably  favorable  comment 
by  many  other  anglers. 

But  let  us  return  to  the  wading-shoes,  of  which  we  lost 
sight  so  long  ago. 

Through  the  uppers  at  the  instep  and  close  to  the  soles, 
the  leather  should  be  pierced  three  or  four  times  with 
the  small  blade  of  a  penknife,  that  when  the  stream  is 
abandoned  for  the  bank  the  water  may  find  egress.  But 
these  holes  must  be  small,  and  made  as  I  have  said  by 
a  single  small  cut  with  closely  adjacent  edges,  or  sand 
and  gravel  will  enter,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the 
angler. 

The  drawers  and  stockings  should  be  of  wool,  with- 
out the  admixture  of  any  cotton  whatever.  This  is  of 
the  first  importance  to  health.  The  difference  in  comfort 
arising  from  this  cause  is  wonderful.  After  the  first  im- 
mersion, with  woollen  socks  and  underclothes,  the  wader 


Miscellcmeous  Suggestions.  415 

will  experience  no  chill  in  or  out  of  the  water,  except, 
perhaps,  a  momentary  ring  of  cold  when  the  water  rises 
to  an  unaccustomed  height.  He  will  hardly  know,  as  far 
as  any  sensation  of  cold  is  concerned,  whether  he  is  wet 
or  dry.  But  if  cotton  underclothes  are  worn,  or  those 
with  an  appreciable  admixture  of  cotton,  a  chill  is  expe- 
rienced at  once  on  exposure  to  the  slightest  wind,  or  even 
on  leaving  the  water  when  the  air  is  still.  This  cannot 
but  be  prejudicial  to  health.  Red  Shaker  flannel  is  the 
best  material  for  this  purpose,  probably  because  it  is  hon- 
estly made.     I  cannot  too  strongly  emphasize  this. 

Upon  reaching  the  temporary  lodging  after  the  day's 
sport,  the  wet  clothes  should  be  changed  at  once,  and 
the  entire  body  briskly  rubbed  with  a  towel ;  and  this 
before  eating.  Do  not,  under  any  pretext  or  for  any  rea- 
son whatever,  sit  round  in  your  wet  clothes,  but  change 
at  once.  Then  a  little  drop  of  spirits,  quite  dilute  and 
perhaps  warm,  will  do  no  harm.  But  on  the  stream  and 
while  wading  avoid  this  by  all  means,  since  the  difference 
in  temperature  between  the  upper  and  lower  portions  of 
the  body  is  already  quite  sufficient  without  any  artificial 
stimulant  to  increase  it.  With  these  precautions  I  have 
never  been  able  to  see  that  wading  was  at  all  injurious. 

When  you  remove  your  wading-shoes,  offer  an  induce- 
ment to  one  of  the  farm-hands  to  wash  them  and  give 
them  a  liberal  dose  of  neat's-foot  oil.  They  will  then 
dry  soft,  and  you  will  not  feel,  the  next  time  they  are 
used,  as  though  you  had  incased  your  feet  in  a  burglar- 
proof  safe. 

Some  wear  rubber  wading  -  stockings  ;  but  unless  in 
early  May,  when  the  chill  of  winter  is  hardly  off  the 
water,  I  think  poorly  of  them.  As  far  as  keeping  the 
wader  dry  is  concerned,  they  are  a  delusion;  for  the 


416  Fly-rods  and  Fly -tackle. 

perspiration  is  so  condensed  within  them  by  the  cold  of 
the  stream,  that  he  who  wears  them  will,  at  evening,  be 
quite  as  wet  as  he  who  does  not.  If,  however,  they  are 
preferred,  then  select  those  with  stocking-feet,  and  not 
those  ending  in  boots,  since  the  former  can  be  turned 
entirely  wrong  side  out  to  dry,  which  is  impossible  with 
the  latter ;  the  inside  will  always  be  found  the  wetter. 
Also  choose  those  of  the  pantaloon  form,  since  though 
the  depth  be  not  so  great,  the  water  will,  when  the 
wader  stands  in  or  forces  his  way  against  the  current, 
boil  up  against  him,  and  with  mere  stockings  may  over- 
flow the  upper  edge  and  load  him  up  with  water.  Noth- 
ing is  more  disgusting  than  this  mishap,  nor  does  any- 
thing so  chill  the  angler's  ardor  and  demoralize  him,  as 
to  be  forced  to  lie  on  his  back  on  the  bank  and  elevate 
his  legs  in  the  air  to  empty  his  boots.  There  is  then  a 
natural  affinity  between  the  fluid  and  his  backbone,  and 
along  the  latter  a  goodly  portion  always  flows  to  make 
its  escape  at  his  collar.  But  there  is  to  me  something 
abhorrent  in  the  idea  of  being  stewed  in  my  own  juice  ; 
and  though  I  have  them,  I  have  not  used  rubbers  in  wad- 
ing for  years. 

If  the  stream  is  a  strong  one  and  its  bottom  rough, 
use  a  wading-staff  of  about  your  own  height.  On  this 
mark  two  or  three  rings  by  removing  the  bark  with  a 
knife,  to  serve  as  some  guide  from  which  to  judge  the 
depth  of  the  water.  Secure  this  to  a  button-hole  of  your 
coat  with  a  string  of  sufficient  length  to  permit  its  un- 
embarrassed use.  Then,  when  a  fish  is  fastened  and  both 
hands  are  needed,  it  can  be  dropped,  relying  on  the 
string  to  prevent  it  from  being  swept  away  by  the  cur- 
rent, and  to  insure  its  recovery.  It  will  save  many  a 
nasty  fall  and  ducking. 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions,  417 

The  landing-net  for  this  fishing  should  be  quite  small, 
of  oval  form,  the  bow  eight  or  nine  inches  wide  and  a 
foot  long.  The  handle  need  not  exceed  six  inches  in 
length,  and  should  be  provided  with  a  leather  tag  con- 
taining a  button-hole,  to  be  attached  to  a  button  secured 
to  the  back  of  the  coat  just  below  the  collar.  This  is  the 
most  convenient  way  to  dispose  of  a  very  inconvenient 
necessity.     Rattan  makes  as  good  a  bow  as  anything. 

When  a  fish  is  struck,  get  him  out  of  the  water  in 
which  he  was  caught  as  soon  as  possible,  lest  the  others, 
which  were  probably  in  his  company,  take  alarm — and 
out  of  the  current  as  well.  Play  him  till  quite  exhausted, 
then  reel  him  in  short,  drop  your  wading -staff,  and 
reach  behind  and  unbutton  the  net.  Then  throwing  the 
tip  of  the  rod  backward,  slip  the  net  under  him  quietly, 
and  lift  him  out.  Next  support  your  rod  between  your 
body  and  the  upper  part  of  your  right  arm,  take  the  net 
in  the  right  hand,  and  grasp  the  fish  by  the  gills  with 
the  left.  Then  tuck  your  net  under  your  left  arm,  and 
proceed  to  kill  your  fish.  Never  neglect  this.  It  is  most 
cruel  and  unsportsmanlike  to  force  them  to  writhe  their 
lives  slowly  away  in  the  creel.  This  may  be  instantly 
accomplished  by  striking  the  head  once  or  twice  upon 
the  butt  of  the  rod ;  or  the  thumb  may  be  placed  back 
of  the  head,  the  forefinger  hooked  under  the  upper  jaw, 
and  the  head  bent  sharply  over  against  the  back.  Death 
is  instantaneous.  Then  unhook  the  fish,  replace  the  net, 
retrieve  your  wading-staff,  and  try  for  another. 

In  wading,  keep  out  of  the  water  all  you  can,  and 
never,  if  it  be  possible  to  avoid  it,  traverse  a  spot  where 
trout  are  likely  to  lie.  Remember  there  may  be  some 
other  angler  behind  you,  and  do  not  spoil  his  sport  be- 
cause you  may  happen  to  have  found  none.  It  by  no 
27 


418  Fly -rods  and  Fly -tackle. 

means  follows,  because  you  were  unsuccessful,  that  the 
pool  was  untenanted ;  if  you  plunge  through  it  you  may 
so  alarm  the  fish  that  they  will  refuse  to  rise  for  hours. 
Not  unfrequently  gentlemen  will  be  met  at  a  fishing 
locality,  whose  outfit,  chosen  in  ignorance  of  the  pecul- 
iarities of  that  water,  is  utterly  unsuited  thereto.  To  a 
brother  angler  so  situated  spare  freely  from  your  own 
superabundance,  giving  him  all  possible  assistance.  Pro- 
priety and  policy  alike  forbid  that  the  eager  competition 
of  every-day  life  should  contaminate  this  sport.  Anglers 
gather  to  a  fishing  centre  from  the  most  distant  portions 
of  the  country,  and  scatter  again  to  their  homes,  carry- 
ing with  them  a  fixed  opinion  of  those  they  may  have 
happened  to  meet.  The  acquaintances  and  friendships 
so  formed  should  recall  no  recollection  other  than  of 
pleasure.  That  a  good  name  is  better  than  riches  is  an 
old  saying,  but  it  still  retains  the  vitality  of  youth.  He 
who  is  selfish  in  his  sports  is  a  marked  man,  for  what 
must  such  a  one  be  in  his  every-day  life?  The  true 
angler  governs  his  conduct  towards  his  fellow-fishermen 
by  the  Golden  Rule  :  "  Do  unto  others  as  you  would 
they  should  do  unto  you."  He  who  acts  otherwise  is 
unworthy  the  name.  As  you  become  proficient,  by  no 
means  forget  that  you  were  once  a  beginner,  and  to  such 
ever  extend  the  helping  hand. 

Every  fly-fisherman  has  his  half-dozen  or  so  favorite 
flies,  chosen  because  of  good  service  in  the  past.  Perhaps 
no  two  anglers,  if  asked  to  name  their  half-dozen  favor- 
ites, would  altogether  agree,  unless  their  preference  was 
based  upon  fishing  the  same  locality  at  the  same  part  of 
the  season — possibly  not  even  then.  But  there  is  one 
fly,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  which  every  angler  most 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions.  419 

cordially  dislikes,  and  that  is  the  insect  the  vernacular 
name  of  which  is  the  moth. 

Who  has  not  thought  vicious  thoughts  when,  examin- 
ing his  stock  of  flies  preparatory  to  his  first  outing  of 
a  new  season,  he  sees  the  unsuspected  ravages  of  these 
insects  upon  the  contents  of  his  fly-book — ^his  collection 
so  choice  in  variety,  so  excellent  in  quality  at  the  close 
of  the  preceding  season,  now  wingless,  legless,  worth- 
less? Who  has  not  then  asked  himself  what  precau- 
tions will  prevent  a  recurrence  of  this  misfortune  ?  The 
solution  of  this  problem  must  be  sought  in  a  life  history 
of  the  moth  itself. 

The  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington  has  in- 
vestigated the  natural  history  of  many  of  the  pernicious 
domestic  insects,  among  them  the  moth,  and  has  pub- 
lished directions  how  they  may  best  be  combated.  The 
conclusions,  as  far  as  the  moth  is  concerned,  may  be 
summarized  in  half  a  dozen  words.  Keep  the  eggs  out, 
and  there  will  be  no  trouble.  Let  the  eggs  in,  and 
there  will  be  trouble,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of 
camphor,  naphthalene,  cedar,  or  any  other  supposed  pre- 
ventive. The  efficacy  of  these  preventives  is  limited  to 
repelling  the  mature  insect  when  seeking  a  suitable 
place  to  deposit  its  eggs.  If  the  eggs  are  once  deposited, 
they  will  hatch  despite  any  of  these  preventives,  and 
the  grub,  which  alone  does  the  mischief,  will  devour 
whatever  suitable  food  it  may  find. 

The  deduction  from  these  observed  facts  is  simple. 
First,  see  to  it  that  no  moth  eggs  are  present  in  the  fly- 
book  when  it  is  put  away  at  the  end  of  the  season. 
These  eggs  are  not  at  all  adhesive,  are  spherical,  and 
about  the  diameter  of  a  small  pin.  If  each  leaf  of  the 
fly-book  is  separately  examined,  and  every  part  be  well 


420  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

dusted  with  a  soft  brush  if  any  foreign  matter  is  seen, 
the  book  will  be  free  from  moth  eggs.  It  then  only 
remains  to  keep  the  mature  moths  out  so  that  no  fresh 
eggs  can  be  laid,  and  the  problem  is  solved.  For  years 
I  have  dusted  out  my  fly -books  in  this  manner,  and  then 
immediately  tied  them  up  tight  in  a  linen  bag,  and  have 
never  had  any  trouble  since. 

What  angler,  as  he  has  removed  his  catch  from  the 
hook,  has  not  again  and  again  said  to  himself,  "  I  won- 
der how  old  it  is  ?"  and  if  this  is  true  of  the  small  fish  of 
the  brook,  how  much  more  frequent  and  earnest  must  be 
the  inquiry  when  the  leviathans  of  the  Rangely  Lakes 
are  under  observation. 

Some  there  doubtless  are,  though  their  number  is  daily 
diminishing,  who  still  question  the  existence  of  brook 
trout  of  the  size  said  to  inhabit  those  waters;  but  they 
are  invariably  those  who  have  never  seen  them  in  the 
water,  or  fresh  from  it.  It  is  not  surprising  that  one 
who  regards  a  two-pound  brook  trout  as  a  very  monster 
should  stare  with  incredulity  when  specimens  of  ten  and 
eleven  pounds  are  spoken  of,  more  especially  if  he  be  fa- 
miliar with  the  wide  discrepancy  usual  between  the  esti- 
mated and  the  actual  weight  of  these  fish.  If  he  really 
knows  anything  about  the  subject,  and  has  seen  many 
such  statements  as  one  which  fell  under  my  notice  a 
couple  of  years  ago — that  a  trout  eighteen  inches  long 
had  been  caught  in  the  head-waters  of  a  certain  river, 
which  weighed  five  and  a  half  pounds  after  it  was  dressed 
— his  faith  must  indeed  be  quite  crushed,  and  unable  to 
answer  the  most  trifling  call  upon  it. 

There  really  is  a  fearful  amount  of  lying — honest,  not 
mendacious  lying — about  the  weight  of  trout.     Let  me 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions,  421 

urge  upon  the  beginner  to  provide  himself  with  a  spring- 
balance  at  the  very  outset,  and  to  train  his  eye  and  his 
tongue  by  the  graduations  upon  it.  However  these 
things  may  be,  the  fact  remains  unchanged,  and  it  cer- 
tainly is  a  fact,  that  genuine  brook  trout  of  ten  and  even 
eleven  pounds  weight  have  been,  and  may  be  taken  in 
the  Rangely  Lakes — the  very  same  species  of  trout  which 
inhabit  the  mountain  streams  of  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  trout  of  over  nine  pounds 
weight  are  quite  rarely  caught. 

On  the  30th  of  September,  1884,  one  of  the  Maine  Fish 
Commissioners  netted  from  a  pool  on  Rangely  Stream 
nine  trout,  in  the  following  order  and  of  the  following 
respective  weights  in  pounds  :  1^,  3,  4^,  5^,  6,  7,  7,  7^, 
and  4 — total  46  avoirdupois,  not  guessed,  pounds.  The 
pool  in  which  they  were  found  was  small,  shallow,  and 
accessible,  and  the  fish  plainly  visible  ;  and  it  was  to 
protect  them  from  the  wiles  of  a  possible  poacher  that 
they  were  netted,  and  conveyed  to  the  larger  pool  below 
the  dam.  But  in  the  pool  last  named  were  then  to  be 
seen  fish  beside  which  the  largest  of  those  above  numer- 
ated seemed  small.  It  was  the  general  opinion  of  those 
accustomed  to  net,  weigh,  and  handle  these  large  trout, 
that  two  of  them  would  each  closely  approximate  to,  if 
they  did  not  exceed,  ten  pounds.  They  were  seen  by 
perhaps  a  hundred  people,  myself  among  the  number. 

Now  how  old  were  these  fish,  or  rather,  how  many 
years  does  it  take  for  a  trout  to  reach  such  size  ?  Some 
think  a  hundred  years,  some  thirty,  some  ten;  but  all 
admit  that  their  estimate  is  mere  conjecture. 

The  rate  at  which  trout  will  gain  in  weight  is  univer- 
sally admitted  to  be  largely  a  question  of  food-supply, 
influenced  somewhat  by  the  depth  and  quantity  of  water, 


422  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

especially  if  they  are  left  to  provide  for  themselves.  We 
all  know  they  are  very  voracious,  and  if  no  limit,  except 
their  own  inclination,  were  placed  upon  the  quantity  they 
should  eat,  that  they  would  stuff  themselves  like  pigs. 
Many  a  time  has  every  experienced  angler  taken  trout 
on  the  fly  which  were  gorged  with  other  food.  I  remem- 
ber once  thus  taking  a  half-pound  trout  in  a  Connecti- 
cut stream  which  was  full  up  to  its  neck  with  June  bugs. 
But  if  they  are  at  times  inordinate  feeders,  they  are 
equally  proficient  as  f asters.  Mr.  Henry  Stanley,  one  of 
the  Maine  Fish  Commissioners,  once  told  me  the  follow- 
ing case  in  point.  He  had  carred  a  number  of  large 
trout  for  breeding  purposes  in  October,  when  he  injured 
his  hand  and  was  forced  to  go  out  to  the  settlements  for 
medical  aid.  The  consequences  of  the  accident  and  early 
and  heavy  snows  prevented  his  return  till  the  following 
spring,  yet  he  found  his  captives  alive  and  active,  though 
all  the  food  they  could  possibly  have  had,  must  have 
been  the  almost  infinitesimal  quantity  which  entered  be- 
tween the  slats  of  the  car.  True,  this  was  largely  dur- 
ing the  winter,  when  some  suppose  trout  feed  but  little. 
Take  another  case  occurring  in  summer.  Some  years 
ago  the  well-known  guide  John  S.  Danforth,  to  whom  I 
have  so  frequently  alluded,  had  three  or  four  nice  large 
fish.  He  was  suddenly  called  away  for  what  he  sup- 
posed would  be  but  a  few  days.  He  had  taken  the  trout 
for  a  special  purpose,  and  wished  to  save  them  for  the 
end  in  view;  so  he  put  them  in  a  small  car,  and  sunk  it 
in  about  forty  feet  of  water.  He  was  gone  some  two 
months,  and  often  those  unhappy  fish  weighed  heavily  on 
his  mind.  On  his  return  his  first  step  was  to  raise  the 
car.  He  found  them  rather  "  lathy,"  as  he  expressed  it,  but 
alive  and  well.     Of  course  they  were  restored  to  liberty. 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions.  423 

John  told  me  another  interesting  incident,  perhaps 
somewhat  remote  from  the  matter  in  hand,  but  notwith- 
standing I  cannot  omit  it.  While  trapping  in  November 
of  1883,  he  came  across  a  spawning-bed,  upon  which  a 
quantity  of  trout  up  to  a  pound  weight  were  still  en- 
gaged. The  water  was  but  about  a  foot  or  so  in  depth, 
and  was  covered  with  a  thin  sheet  of  ice  as  clear  as  crys- 
tal. He  is  a  natural  investigator,  as  I  suppose  all  real 
woodsmen  must  be.  He  saw  his  opportunity,  and  that 
it  was  too  good  to  be  lost.  So  unslinging  his  pack,  he 
stood  his  rifle  against  a  tree,  and  fumbling  in  his  pock- 
ets, produced  a  fly  and  a  piece  of  string.  A  neighboring 
alder-bush  supplied  a  rod,  and  rigging  it  up  he  cast  his 
fly  upon,  and  drew  it  across  the  ice  over  the  trout  below. 
Again  and  again  they  rose  with  the  utmost  eagerness, 
bumping  their  little  noses  against  the  under  surface  of 
the  ice. 

Those  who  rear  trout  say,  that  under  like  conditions 
there  is  considerable  individuality  in  their  growth.  Seth 
Green,  in  his  "Trout  Culture  "  (ISVO),  says  with  good  feed- 
ing they  will  reach  one  pound  in  three  years ;  that  they 
grow  slower  in  running  water  than  ponds;  that  the  rate 
of  increase  diminishes  with  age,  and  puts  their  average 
longevity  at  twelve  to  fourteen  years.  Norris,  in  his 
"American  Fish  Culture,"  gives  an  instance  of  four 
pounds  at  a  little  over  four  years.  In  a  New  Jersey 
pond  the  fry  placed  therein,  with  the  yolk-sack  still  at- 
tached, attained  two  pounds  in  three  years.  In  a  Long 
Island  pond  trout  one  year  old  and  five  inches  long, 
grew  to  eleven  inches  in  their  second  year,  and  in  their 
third  to  fourteen  ounces  or  a  pound  (thirteen  and  a  half 
to  fourteen  and  a  half  inches,  about)  in  weight. 

In  the  spring  of  1899,  Mr.  Edward  Thompson,  of  the 


424  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacTde. 

New  York  State  Fish  Commission,  informed  me  that  he 
had  hatched  trout  in  February,  had  kept  them  in  cap- 
tivity until  April  three  years  thereafter,  when  the  largest 
weighed  four  pounds  and  ten  ounces,  while  others  of 
the  same  hatching,  to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred, 
weighed  three  pounds  and  upward  each.  Having  men- 
tioned that  he  had  a  number  of  trout  hatched  under  his 
supervision  in  the  spring  of  1898,  impounded  near  by, 
he  kindly  offered  to  show  me  some  and  let  me  see  for 
myself  how  they  had  grown.  The  next  day,  May  7, 
1899,  he  submitted  thirty  of  them  to  my  inspection.  I 
spread  them  out  in  a  row,  selected  six  as  near  the  aver- 
age in  point  of  size  as  my  eye  would  enable  me  to  judge, 
and  weighed  them  on  a  set  of  scales  graduated  to  read 
to  the  half -ounce.  These  scales  were  of  the  balance 
variety  and  were  carefully  adjusted  to  insure  accuracy. 
The  six  weighed  one  and  a  half  ounces  less  than  three 
pounds,  though  but  fourteen  months  from  the  ^^^. 
These  fish  had  been  fed  almost  wholly  on  beef  hearts. 

But  all  these  seem  to  have  been  cases  of  domesticated 
trout  artificially  fed.  Some  definite  knowledge  in  re- 
gard to  the  growth  of  wild  trout  is  very  desirable.  From 
the  very  nature  of  the  case  it  must  vary  widely  in  differ- 
ent localities,  since  the  ultimate  result  is  so  different; 
still  it  would  be  well  if  every  angler  who  had  any  defi- 
nite information  on  the  subject,  no  matter  how  restrict- 
ed in  scope,  should  make  it  a  matter  of  record.  Ulti- 
mately some  enthusiast  would  collate  these  scattered 
facts,  and  thus  and  only  thus,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  can 
the  desired  information  be  obtained. 

That  I  may  practise  what  I  preach,  I  relate  the  fol- 
lowing incident,  ope  of  the  pleasantest  in  my  fishing 
experience. 


MisGeU(Mieou8  Suggestions,  426 

During  the  latter  part  of  September,  1882,  John  and 
I  put  eighty  trout  in  a  fair-sized  pond  in  North-western 
Maine,  having  neither  outlet  nor  inlet.  It  was  well 
stocked  with  minnows  and  other  trout  food,  but  con- 
tained no  trout.  The  water  was  clear,  cool,  and  quite 
deep.  Though  John  says  three  or  four  of  these  trout 
would  then  weigh  a  pound  and  a  half,  my  own  recollec- 
tion is  that  none  exceeded  one  and  a  quarter  pounds; 
we  both  agree  that  few,  if  any  of  them,  weighed  less 
than  one  pound.  They  were  all  taken  in  two  days  and 
at  one  locality,  and  enough  of  them  were  actually 
weighed  at  the  time  to  preclude  all  uncertainty  in  this 
respect,  except  as  above  stated.  On  June  1,  1883,  we 
added  thirty-six  to  their  number,  the  largest  of  which 
weighed  just  two  and  a  half  pounds.  I  have  no  mem- 
orandum as  to  the  others,  though  they  were  actually 
weighed  at  the  time,  but  we  agree  that  not  one  was  of 
less  than  one  pound,  while  the  majority  approximated 
two  pounds,  some  a  little  more  and  some  a  little  less 
than  that  weight. 

On  the  morning  of  September  27,  1884,  John  sug- 
gested we  should  visit  the  pond,  and  see,  if  possible,  how 
they  were  getting  on.  It  was  something  of  a  job,  since 
the  distance  was  considerable,  and  moreover  it  would  be 
necessary  to  carry  a  boat  quite  a  portion  of  the  way 
through  the  woods,  and  that  without  a  trail.  Though 
whether  anything  would  be  accomplished  seemed  prob- 
lematical, since  one  hundred  and  thirteen  fish  in  a  pond 
of  that  size  does  not  allow  very  many  to  the  superficial 
foot ;  still  we  might  find  them,  and  the  possibility  war- 
ranted the  effort. 

At  the  expense  of  considerable  perspiration  on  both 
our  parts  the  pond  was  reached,  and  while  he  paddled 


426  Fly-rods  amd  Fly-tacMe, 

around  parallel  to,  and  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore, 
I  cast  towards  it.  When  about  one-eighth  of  the  circum- 
ference had  been  passed,  we  neared  a  bend  where  two 
white-birch  trees  had  fallen  into  the  water  years  before. 
The  smaller  branches  had  disappeared  to  a  great  extent, 
but  the  tops  projected  some  distance  under  the  water, 
leaving  quite  a  space  between  them.  No  sign  of  a  trout 
had  as  yet  been  seen;  but  when  I  cast  towards  these  tops, 
a  swirl,  evidently  caused  by  a  good-sized  fish,  followed. 
I  struck  and  fastened  him,  held  him  for  a  moment,  when 
the  hook  detached  and  he  escaped.  It  was  a  bitter  dis- 
appointment. He  was  evidently  a  very  nice  fish,  and  the 
opportunity  so  long  desired  to  obtain  at  least  a  little 
definite  information  of  the  rate  of  growth  in  these  waters, 
seemed  to  have  slipped  from  me  at  the  very  moment  when 
within  my  grasp.  "  It's  tough,  John,  but  I've  lost  him." 
A  deep  sigh  was  the  only  response,  and  the  canoe,  mov- 
ing as  silently  and  almost  as  slowly  as  the  shadow  on 
the  dial,  withdrew  about  fifteen  feet,  and  presented  its 
broadside  to  the  snags.  Believing  I  had  exhausted  all 
the  luck  I  could  reasonably  expect  in  finding  one  at  all, 
I  cast  once  with  but  little  hope,  and  raised  nothing  ; 
again,  and  the  w^ater  boiled.  This  gentleman  was  evi- 
dently in  earnest,  and  I  struck  him  on  the  instant.  At 
once  the  canoe  began  to  withdraw  towards  the  middle  of 
the  pond,  while  with  all  the  bend  which  could  be  put 
upon  the  rod,  I  supplemented  the  resistance  of  the  click 
by  additional  friction  applied  by  my  fingers  to  the  line 
— always  giving  a  little,  and  but  a  little,  and  making  him 
work  for  every  inch.  It  was  risky — fatal  if  the  hold 
was  slight — but  it  was  imperative  he  should  not  regain 
the  shelter  of  the  snags.  The  struggle  was  protracted 
and  severe,  but  at  last  he  swung  away  from  them,  and 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions.  427 

we  had  him  in  clear  water.  He  was  a  fighter,  and  for 
some  twenty  minutes  we  played  the  game  of  give  and 
take,  till  at  last  he  lay  exhausted  in  the  landing-net. 
The  spring-balance  was  produced — the  identical  one  used 
when  he  was  originally  taken  in  his  native  home — and 
the  four-pound  mark  was  plainly  visible  as  he  hung  sus- 
pended thereon.  It  was  a  male,  so  we  knocked  him  on 
the  head. 

"  John,  do  you  suppose  it  is  possible  we  can  have  struck 
that  two-and-a-half  pounder?  It  seems  incredible  that 
even  then  he  could  have  increased  a  pound  and  a  half  in 
sixteen  months." 

John  replied,  "  I  hardly  think  it  can  be.  My  recollec- 
tion is  that  fish  was  a  female ;  still  I  am  not  sure.  At 
any  rate,  even  if  it  is,  it  shows  a  much  quicker  growth 
than  I  was  prepared  for.  There  were  certainly  two  there, 
perhaps  there  may  be  more.     Let's  try  again." 

Once  more  the  canoe  stole  up  towards  the  sunken  birch- 
es. A  cast,  and  nothing  came;  a  second,  and  the  fly  was 
taken.  The  same  tactics  produced  a  like  result,  and  a  fe- 
male of  three  and  five-eighths  pounds  was  ours.  We  re- 
stored her  to  the  water. 

"  There,  John,  that  will  do;  let's  go  home." 

But  John  was  not  satisfied.  He  must  have  just  one 
look  to  see  if  there  were  others  there,  and  what  they  were 
about.  So  we  approached  with  caution,  and  when  about 
twenty  feet  from  the  sunken  birches  I  saw  a  trout,  ap- 
parently of  the  same  size  as  those  we  had  already  taken, 
swim  in  among  the  snags  and  disappear. 

"  John,  did  you  see  that  fish  ?" 

"No,  where? — For  Heaven's  sake,  just  look  there !" 

This  form  of  expression,  so  unusual  for  him,  and  the  ap- 
parent excitement  with  which  it  was  uttered,  startled  me. 


428  Fly-rods  cmd  Fly-tackle. 

We  have  seen  many  sights,  and  have  passed  through 
many  scenes  together  well  calculated  to  stir  the  most 
languid  blood,  but  now,  for  the  first  time  in  our  long 
intercourse,  did  the  even  balance  of  his  mind  seem  dis- 
turbed. 

I  looked,  and  upon  a  sight  such  as  I  had  never  before 
seen.  Off  the  end  of  the  snags,  about  two  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  not  more  than  fifteen  feet  dis- 
tant, a  school  of  trout  appeared  —  not  three  or  four,  or 
even  half  a  dozen,  but  I  believe  at  least  twenty  in  num- 
ber. Through  the  clear  water  their  great  white-edged 
fins  glistened  like  silver,  and  their  vivid  colors  were  al- 
most as  striking  as  though  we  had  them  in  our  hands, 
fresh  taken  from  the  water. 

For  years  it  had  been  our  constant  practice  and  amuse- 
ment for  each  to  estimate  the  weight  of  our  larger  fish 
when  they  rose,  during  their  struggle  for  life,  and  finally 
when  ready  for  the  net;  and  then  at  last  to  compare  our 
estimates  with  the  indications  of  the  spring-balance,  to 
see  who  had  most  nearly  approached  the  truth.  We  had 
thus  acquired  no  little  proficiency  in  this  respect,  and  a 
close  coincidence  between  the  real  weight  and  that  as 
finally  estimated  was  almost  invariable. 

Unless  we  were  deceived,  not  a  single  fish  was  in  that 
school  which  did  not  exceed  two  and  a  half  pounds  in 
weight.  Some,  though  we  could  hardly  believe  our  own 
eyes,  we  could  not  place  at  less  than  five,  while  four- 
pounders  were  plenty. 

Almost  breathless  we  watched  them  slowly  cruising 
about,  apparently  with  utter  indifference  to  the  canoe, 
now  not  five  feet  from  them. 

I  could  not  stand  it.  "John,  I  must  have  just  one 
more  out  of  that  crowd."    And  so  the  canoe  was  with- 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions,  429 

drawn,  and  a  cast  or  two  fastened  a  male  trout  of  three 
pounds,  which  we  returned  to  the  water. 

There  was  one  lady  in  camp,  the  only  one,  who  had 
accompanied  her  husband  into  the  woods  now  for  the 
third  season.  He  was  a  valued  friend,  the  one  who,  per- 
haps more  than  any  other  except  myself,  is  responsible 
for  the  existence  of  this  book.  She  had  taken  many 
trout  with  the  fly,  but  none  of  over  a  pound  weight,  and 
was  very  anxious  to  exceed  that;  so  we  left  the  pond 
without  further  disturbing  the  fish,  anxiously  discussing 
the  possibility  of  getting  her  in  there. 

By  the  somewhat  free  use  of  the  axe,  and  by  taking  a 
rather  circuitous  route  it  was  accomplished.  She  cast 
that  afternoon  for  an  hour  without  the  slightest  appar- 
ent indication  that  there  ever  had  been  a  trout  in  the 
whole  water.  A  heavy  rain  then  obliged  us  to  take  her 
out  through  the  wet  woods,  without  even  a  rise  to  re- 
ward her  for  her  trouble.  I  was  exceedingly  chagrined. 
I  had  told  her  what  we  had  done  and  what  we  had  seen, 
and  as  not  the  slightest  doubt  was  entertained  that  our 
success  could  not  only  be  repeated  but  easily  surpassed, 
I  had  not  hesitated  to  say  so. 

Then  I  vowed  a  vow,  which  I  commend  to  the  care- 
ful consideration  of  all  anglers,  old  and  new  alike — 
never  again,  under  any  circumstances,  will  I  recommend 
any  fishing  locality  in  terms  substantially  stronger  than 
these:  "At  that  place  I  have  done  so  and  so;  under  like 
conditions  it  is  believed  you  can  repeat  it."  We  are  apt 
to  speak  of  a  place  and  the  sport  it  affords  as  we  find  it, 
whereas  reflection  and  experience  should  teach  us  that  it 
is  seldom  exactly  the  same,  even  for  two  successive  days. 

The  next  afternoon  was  threatening,  so  we  visited  the 
pond  alone,  merely  intending  to  cast  over  it  a  little,  so  as 


430  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle. 

to  locate  and  study  the  habits  of  the  fish.  Hardly  had 
we  pushed  from  the  bank  when  we  saw  a  trout  roll  to 
the  surface  over  towards  the  birches.  Three  or  four 
casts  in  that  neighborhood  fastened  it  or  another,  which, 
however,  escaped  after  some  five-minutes'  play.  A  cast 
or  two  rose  another,  which  went  off  with  a  sore  mouth, 
the  hook  missing  a  firm  hold.  In  less  than  two  minutes 
afterwards  a  four-pound  female  was  fastened,  and  landed 
after  a  capital  fight.  Another  female  of  three  and  an 
eighth  pounds  followed.  This  was  an  exceedingly  gamy 
fish,  and  took  us  well  out  in  the  pond  before  it  was 
brought  to  net.  We  had  just  disposed  of  that  one  when 
up  rolled  a  trout  which  seemed  fully  two  feet  long,  and 
slowly  swam  along  the  surface  of  the  water  for  six  or 
eight  feet  with  its  back  exposed.  Around  it,  and  in 
plain  sight,  were  some  eight  or  ten  other  large  fish,  but 
all  of  inferior  size.  Though  more  distant  than  the  school 
we  had  seen  the  day  before,  they  were  within  reach,  and 
the  first  cast  among  them  attracted  the  attention  of  one 
of  the  smaller  ones,  which  proved  to  weigh  three  pounds. 
Subsequently  another  of  unknown  size  was  lost,  and  a 
male  of  two  and  a  half  pounds  was  taken.  All  of  these 
fish  were  returned  uninjured  to  the  water.  The  next  af- 
ternoon the  lady  tempted  fortune  again,  and  cast  for  a 
long  time  without  encouragement.  However,  I  am  hap- 
py to  say  that  later  in  the  day  she  took  a  female  of  four 
pounds,  which,  for  so  vigorous  and  constant  a  fighter, 
exhibited  surprising  endurance;  also  a  smaller  one  of  two 
and  a  half  pounds. 

It  is  difficult  to  draw  any  perfectly  satisfactory  gener- 
alization from  this,  since  we  only  know  with  certainty 
that  none  of  the  trout  we  took  on  September  27th,  28th, 
and  29th,  1884,  weighed  less  than  one  nor  more  than  two 


Miscellcmeous  Suggestions,  431 

and  a  half  pounds  sixteen  months  before  ;  for  it  is  hardly- 
conceivable  that  any  of  the  first  lot  should  have  attained 
more  than  that  weight  between  September  29th,  1882, 
and  June  Ist,  1883 — only  seven  months. 

It  seems  to  me,  on  reflection,  that  we  must  have  been 
mistaken  in  the  size  of  the  largest  fish  we  saw,  though 
we  judged  it  at  the  moment  to  be  twenty-four  inches 
long.  If  so,  it  must  have  weighed  very  closely  upon 
one  side  or  the  other  of  six  pounds,  and  that  seems  ut- 
terly incredible.  Clearly  the  three  fish  of  four  pounds 
which  were  taken  could  not  all  have  been  the  original 
two-and-a-half  pounder,  since  they  were  three  different 
fish.  Still  assuming  such  to  be  the  case,  or  assuming 
every  trout  in  the  pond  to  have  weighed  two  pounds 
and  a  half  on  June  1,  1883,  the  least  it  seems  possible 
to  allow  is  an  increase  of  one  and  a  half  pounds  in  six- 
teen months,  a  result  sufficiently  surprising. 

If  one  may  judge  from  what  one  sees,  the  necessity 
of  holding  a  spring-balance  by  its  suspending  ring  when 
weighing  trout,  so  that  it  may  hang  perfectly  perpendic- 
ular, is  not  as  well  understood  as  might  be  supposed. 
It  is  the  extent  of  the  compression  of  a  spiral  spring 
that  is  to  be  read.  The  extent  that  this  spring  will  be 
compressed  by  weights  indicated  on  the  scale  has  been 
marked  by  the  maker.  That  the  same  compression 
may  result  from  the  same  weight,  the  spring  must  be 
free  to  act  without  it  and  its  connecting  parts  rubbing 
against  the  inside  of  its  casing;  that  is,  the  body  of  the 
spring-balance  must  be  perpendicular.  Gravity  will  in- 
sure this  if  the  spring-balance  be  held  by  its  suspend- 
ing ring,  as  it  should  be  when  in  use. 


432  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tachle. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  test  one's  spring-balance  when 
or  soon  after  it  is  bought,  and  periodically  afterwards. 
I  test  mine  at  least  once  every  season.  It  is  best  done 
by  comparison  with  a  balance  scale — not  with  another 
spring-balance,  the  accuracy  of  which  may  be  unknown. 
A  good  grocer's  scale  reading  to  ounces  will  answer,  but 
not  a  druggist's  scale,  since  the  apothecary's  ounce  is 
heavier  and  his  pound  lighter  than  the  avoirdupois 
ounce  and  pound,  to  which  the  spring-balance  is  grad- 
uated. I  proceed  as  follows :  I  place  a  small  tin  pail 
or  similar  receptacle  on  the  grocer's  balance,  and  see  what 
it  weighs.  Let  us  say  it  is  short  of  half  a  pound.  I 
then  set  the  balance  to  half  a  pound,  and  slowly  run 
water  into  the  pail  until  it  balances  exactly.  I  then 
weigh  the  pail  and  its  contents  on  my  spring-balance,  and 
see  whether  it  indicates  the  same  weight.  If  it  does, 
then  I  return  the  pail  to  the  grocer's  balance,  set  it  to  a 
pound,  and  again  add  water  until  it  balances,  and  try  my 
spring-balance  again;  and  so  on  throughout  its  range. 

The  celebrated  scientist,  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  men- 
tions a  method  of  determining  the  weight  of  trout  from 
their  length,  in  his  Salmonia  ;  or,  Days  of  Fly-Fishing, 
published  in  1828.  It  proceeds  on  the  mathematical 
principle  that  solids  of  the  same  shape  are  to  each 
other  as  the  cube  of  their  dimensions.  In  other  words, 
if  we  know  just  how  long  a  pound  trout  is,  we  can  close- 
ly calculate  the  weight  of  a  trout  of  any  other  length. 
The  problem  is  worked  out  by  cubing  the  length  in 
inches  of  the  unknown  trout,  and  dividing  this  result 
by  the  cube  of  the  length  of  the  pound  trout.  This 
gives  the  weight  of  the  unknown  trout  in  pounds  or 
fractions  of  a  pound. 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions,  433 

But  if  the  beginner  will  take  a  piece  of  bristol  board 
as  long  as  the  pocket  of  his  fly-book  will  conveniently 
hold,  mark  one  edge  in  inches,  and  then  copy  the  fol- 
lowing table  upon  it,  he  will  be  able  by  it  to  ascertain 
the  weight  of  the  trout  he  takes  very  closely  without 
weighing. 

\  pound —  9     inches       3     pounds — 19     inches 


i     ' 

'   Hi 

(( 

3i 

20 

1    ' 

'    13 

(( 

4 

21 

1   ' 

'    U 

(( 

41 

22 

li    ' 

'    15 

(( 

H 

22i 

If    ' 

'    16 

(( 

6 

23i 

24    ' 

17 

(( 

1 

24i 

H      ' 

'    18 

(( 

Suppose  we  wish  to  ascertain  the  weight  of  a  trout, 
and  have  no  means  of  weighing  it.  If  we  cut  a  twig 
to  the  length  of  the  trout  over  all — that  is,  from  the 
end  of  its  nose  to  the  extreme  end  of  the  tail  fin — as- 
certain the  length  of  the  twig  by  the  inch  marks  on  the 
strip  of  bristol  board,  and  then  consult  the  table,  we 
will  learn  his  actual  weight  so  nearly  as  never  to  be 
put  to  confusion  should  our  statement  of  its  weight 
be  confronted  with  proof  of  its  actual  weight.  As 
the  size  increases,  the  margin  of  possible  error  increases. 
If  the  fish  is  not  over  19  inches  long,  and  is  in  normal 
condition,  neither  unusually  thin  nor  unusually  hog- 
backed,  the  table  will  probably  give  its  real  weight 
within  an  ounce  one  way  or  the  other.  Should  you 
take  a  trout  22  inches  long,  for  example,  he  will  ap- 
pear to  be  a  very  large  trout.  I  have  heard  such  esti- 
mated, even  by  experienced  anglers  not  accustomed  to 
28 


434  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe, 

see  trout  so  large,  all  the  way  from  six  up  to  seven  and 
a  half  pounds.  But  you  may  be  morally  certain  if  that 
fish  is  not  so  hog-backed  as  to  amount  to  obvious  ab- 
solute deformity,  and  does  not  measure  over  22  inches 
in  length,  that  it  does  not  fairly  weigh  as  much  as  five 
pounds. 

That  fishing  with  the  fly  is  not  in  greater  favor  as  a 
ladies'  amusement  is  matter  for  regret.  Where  the  use 
of  a  boat  is  practicable,  there  is  no  earthly  reason  why 
they  should  not  derive  the  same  mental,  moral,  and  phys- 
ical benefit  from  it  as  do  men.  It  is  a  gentle  pursuit, 
and  a  cleanly,  and  affords  an  ample  field  for  the  exercise 
of  that  manual  delicacy  and  skill  for  which  women  are 
pre-eminent ;  while  at  the  same  time,  unlike  almost  every 
other  out-of-door  sport,  no  great  muscular  exertion  is 
required,  nor  over  fatigue  incurred. 

Whether  the  ladies  really  have  their  fair  share  of  the 
amusements  of  life  may  well  be  questioned. 

It  is  a  mistake  on  their  part  if  they  suppose  that  gen- 
tlemen think  them  in  the  way  at  such  times,  always  pro- 
vided they  are  reasonable.  Some  there  are,  as  full  of 
whims  as  an  egg  is  full  of  meat,  whose  sole  aim  and  ob- 
ject seem  to  be  to  keep  half  a  dozen  men  skipping  about 
on  frivolous  errands.  Excluding  such  from  the  enumera- 
tion, men,  not  of  vicious  tastes  and  habits,  have,  to  put 
it  mildly,  not  the  slightest  objection  to  the  companion- 
ship of  ladies  in  any  out-of-door  amusement  in  which 
they  are  physically  qualified  to  take  part ;  nor  will  it  be 
other  than  a  pleasure  to  any  angler  to  afford  them  all 
necessary  assistance  and  instruction. 

I  have  seen  several  ladies  accompany  their  husbands 
to,  and  take  part  in  fly-fishing.     Could  they  and  their 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions.  435 

lady  friends  but  overhear  the  terms  in  which  other  an- 
glers then  present  spoke  of  them — unless  I  am  mistaken 
in  supposing  that  ladies  do  not  altogether  despise  the 
good  opinion  of  men  (I  speak  with  diffidence,  being  a 
bachelor) — and  that  others  should  envy  their  husbands 
the  great  good-fortune  which  has  fallen  to  them  in  their 
wives  is  not  displeasing,  then  the  former  would  become 
confirmed  in,  and  the  latter  would  at  once  begin  to  cul- 
tivate fly-fishing. 

Men  hope  for  something  from  women  beyond  seeing 
to  the  boiling  of  the  potatoes  and  maintaining  discipline 
among  children,  and  that  is  companionship  ;  and  she  who 
is  companionable  may  feel  confident  that  she  has  a  valid 
mortgage  on  the  admiration  of  all  decent  men,  on  which 
not  one  will  make  default  in  the  payment  of  interest. 

But  in  introducing  ladies  to  the  delights  of  fly-fish- 
ing, it  seems  to  me  that  a  mistake  is  usually  made  in 
their  outfit.  As  far  as  my  observation  goes,  they  have 
generally  been  furnished  with  a  rod  of  from  eight  and 
a  half  to  nine  feet  in  length,  weighing  four  or  five 
ounces.  The  idea  is  not  to  overtax  their  physical 
strength,  and  thus  discourage  them.  While  the  idea 
is  of  course  all  right,  it  seems  to  me  that  its  application 
is  all  wrong. 

The  first  essential  to  full  conversion  is  the  encourage- 
ment of  success.  Hope  long  deferred  gives  rise  to  dis- 
couragement and  distaste.  Now,  would  any  experienced 
angler  fit  out  a  masculine  beginner  with  a  four  or  five 
ounce  rod  ?  Would  he  not  consider  a  beginner  so  equip- 
ped handicapped  ?  Would  he  not  advocate  the  use  of 
a  seven  or  eight  or  even  nine  ounce  rod  by  such  a  one  ? 
Does  not  her  sex  entitle  a  woman  to  fully  as  much  con- 


436  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tacMe. 

sideration  as  a  man,  and  should  not  her  way  to  success 
be  made  at  least  as  easy  as  his  ?  But  it  will  be  urged 
she  has  not  the  physical  strength  to  handle  a  ten-foot, 
seven  or  eight  ounce  rod  with  comfort.  This  is  quite 
true  if  she  tries  to  do  it  with  but  one  hand,  but  it  is  not 
true  if  she  uses  both  hands. 

In  brief,  I  think  every  lady,  unless  exceptionally 
strong,  should  use  a  ten-foot  rod  of  considerable  power 
in  fly-fishing,  but  employing  both  hands — that  is,  cast- 
ing with  both  hands  just  as  a  man  does  when  salmon- 
fishing. 

The  rod  should  be  arranged  as  follows  : 

A  hole  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter  should 
be  drilled  through  the  butt-cap  of  the  selected  rod  so  as 
to  enter  the  butt  about  one  and  a  half  inches.  A  mov- 
able plug  should  be  provided  to  fit  the  hole,  so  that  it 
can  be  inserted  or  withdrawn  at  will.  When  the  plug 
is  inserted,  it  is  as  though  the  rod  had  never  been  al- 
tered. It  is  just  as  serviceable  a  single-handed  rod  as 
it  ever  was.  Provide  also  a  handle  about  three  and  a 
half  or  four  inches  long,  with  a  dowel  at  one  end,  which 
will  fit  the  hole  in  the  butt.  When  a  lady  is  to  use  the 
rod,  withdraw  the  plug  and  attach  this  handle.  She 
will  then  have  a  double-handed  rod  with  a  grasp  for 
one  hand  above,  and  for  the  other  hand  below  the  reel, 
precisely  like  a  miniature  salmon-rod  ;  and  I  can  assure 
my  readers  she  will  be  able  to  use  this  rod  with  far 
more  efficiency  and  with  less  than  half  the  muscular 
effort  required  by  a  five-ounce  rod  of  far  less  power. 

I  speak  from  experience  and  not  conjecture.  For 
years  I  have  made  it  my  practice  to  carry  a  spare  rod 
so  arranged  on  my  angling  excursions  for  the  succor  of 
the  unfortunate.     It  has  been  used  as  a  single-handed 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions,  437 

rod  by  many  men,  and  as  a  double-handed  rod  by  many 
ladies,  with  the  result  indicated  above. 

But  one  thing  must  by  no  means  be  overlooked,  or  the 
scheme  will  prove  a  failure. 

Casting  with  a  double-handed  rod,  while  almost  iden- 
tical, yet  differs  radically  in  one  respect  from  casting 
with  a  single-handed  rod.  In  casting  with  a  single- 
handed  rod,  the  hand  holding  the  rod  is  the  centre  of 
motion.  That  is,  when  the  part  of  the  rod  above  the 
hand  goes  behind  for  the  back  cast,  the  part  of  the  rod 
below  the  hand  moves  to  the  front,  and  vice  versa. 

This  method  will  not  work  with  a  double-handed  rod. 
The  centre  of  motion  must  be  the  extreme  butt  of  the 
rod,  the  upper  hand  following  its  motion.  That  is,  the 
lower  hand  grasps  the  butt  rather  loosely,  the  rod  swing- 
ing on  it  like  a  pivot,  while  the  upper  hand  moves  to 
and  fro  with  the  swaying  of  the  rod.  The  reason  for 
this  is  plain.  In  working  a  double-handed  rod,  the  rod 
is  held  opposite  the  middle  of  the  body,  and  not  off  to 
one  side  as  with  a  single-handed  rod.  The  portion  of 
the  rod  below  the  upper  hand  is  so  long  that  if  the 
upper  hand  is  made  the  centre  of  motion  the  part  of 
the  rod  below  that  hand  will  swing  towards  and  strike 
against  the  body  on  the  forward  cast,  and  the  cast 
will  be  spoiled.  About  five  minutes  is  ample  time  to 
master  this  detail,  which,  even  though  it  may  appear 
difficult  in  words,  is  extremely  simple  in  practice.  The 
whole  trick  turns  on  one  point — make  the  extreme  end 
of  the  butt  the  centre  of  motion,  swinging  the  rod  to 
and  fro  on  that,  as  a  door  swings  on  its  hinge. 

Another  point  before  leaving  the  subject.  The  rela- 
tive position  of  the  hands  should  be  frequently  changed, 
say  once  in  every  four  or  five  minutes,  provided  the 


438  Fly-rods  and  Fly-tackle, 

caster  can  approximately  face  the  water  to  be  fished. 
This  so  rests  the  muscles  employed  that  one  can  cast 
for  half  a  day  thus  with  less  fatigue  than  for  half  an 
hour  with  a  single-handed  rod.  But  if  the  water  to  be 
fished  lies  to  one  side,  then  the  hand  on  the  opposite 
side  should  be  uppermost — that  is,  if  the  cast  is  to  the 
right,  the  left  should  be  the  upper  hand,  and  vice  versa. 
I  might  mention  one  other  point  which,  though  at 
times  of  practical  value,  has  pleasure  for  its  main  ob- 
ject. It  is  always  a  comfort  to  know  just  how  far  one 
is  casting ;  while  sometimes,  when  a  change  of  fly  has 
been  made,  and  it  is  desired  to  again  reach  a  definite 
spot  without  moving,  it  is  a  positive  advantage  to  know 
when  the  same  length  of  line  is  out.  This  may  be 
readily  accomplished  by  marking  the  line,  one  mark  at 
thirty,  two  at  forty,  three  at  fifty,  and  a  longer  mark 
at  sixty  feet  from  the  end,  which  will  usually  be  quite 
sufficient  for  actual  fishing.  A  little  white  paint,  to 
be  varnished  when  thoroughly  dry,  will  answer  the 
purpose. 

The  time  was,  and  that  at  no  distant  day,  when  he 
who  for  a  moment  deserted  the  tread-mill  of  life  for  any 
purpose  disconnected  with  money-getting,  braved  the 
disapproval  of  his  friends.  Everything  which  human 
ingenuity  could  devise  and  the  most  liberal  expenditure 
could  accomplish,  had  been  done  for  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual welfare  of  the  nation,  but  for  its  physical  well- 
being,  worse  than  nothing. 

That  day  is  past.  Wisdom  is  the  child  of  experience; 
and,  as  one  after  another  of  the  most  promising  in  the 
race  of  life  dropped  from  the  contest,  solely  from  lack 
of  physical  stamina  to  make  use  of  the  ability  which 


Miscellaneous  Suggestions.  439 

natural  aptitude  had  given  and  careful  training  had 
fostered,  the  eyes  of  this  people  opened.  That  a  steam- 
engine,  though  perfect  in  design  and  faultless  in  con- 
struction, is  worthless  when  coupled  with  a  worn-out 
boiler,  is  now  generally  accepted  as  a  truth  applicable 
to  the  conduct  of  life.  Though  but  in  middle  age,  it 
seems  to  me  I  can  recognize  a  marked  improvement  in 
the  physique  of  the  rising  generation  over  that  of  my 
own. 

Athletics  and  out-of-door  sports  have  been,  and  will 
continue  to  be  a  priceless  boon  to  this  nation.  It  has 
applied,  and  it  is  now  applying  a  remedy  to  a  disease 
which  escaped  the  notice  and  comment  of  no  intelligent 
foreigner  who  visited  our  shores.  Though  we  hear  it 
no  more,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  but  a  few  years 
since  the  pessimist  doomed  us  to  extinction  as  a  people, 
and  that  solely  from  pure  physical  decay. 

To  the  progress  of  physical  education  among  us,  no 
true  lover  of  his  country  can  maintain  an  attitude  of  in- 
difference. In  the  hope  that  I  might  perhaps  add  some- 
thing to  the  impetus  of  this,  as  it  seems  to  me,  all-im- 
portant movement,  this  book  has  been  written. 


INDEX. 


Acetone,  60-62. 

Action  of  fly-rods,  153. 

Adjusting  rods.      (See  Rod-mak- 
ing.) 

Age  of  trout,  420,  423. 

Aluminum  bronze,  147. 
reels,  146. 

Anatomy  of  eye  of  fish,  384. 

Apparatus    for   testing   strength 
of  trout,  136. 

Appearance  of  flies  in  water,  40. 

Artificial  leathers,  62. 

Ash  and  lancewood  rods,  169. 

Automatic  reels,  145. 


B. 


Bamboo  as  a  rod  material,  161. 
burns  upon,   164. 
gluing,  178,  270,  273,  300. 
how  to  order,   165. 
planing,  271,  275. 
quality  of,  166. 
repair  of,  167,  168. 
rods,  selection  of,  167. 
selection  of,  276. 
splicing,  305. 
splitting,  266. 
testing,  279. 
tips,   265. 

to   make    four -strand    rod, 
266. 


Bamboo,  to  make  six- strand  rod, 
275. 

Beef  wood,  186. 

Bethabara,   181. 

Black  Dose,  369,  375. 

Black  Fairy  fly,  39,  41. 

Blacking  brass,  245. 
copper  alloys,  245. 

Bois  d'Arc    (bodock),   188. 

Breaking  of  rods,  its  cause,  159. 

Breaks,    to    repair.       {See    Re- 
pairs. ) 

Brown  mallard  wings,   42. 


C. 


Calcutta    bamboo.       {See    Bam- 
boo.) 
Case  for  rods,  249,  413. 
Casting  the  fly,  318. 

back    cast,    325,    330,    339, 

340. 
cast  to  be  noiseless,  330. 
cautions  to  beginners,  344. 
how  to  learn,   318. 
length  of,  usual,  214,  331. 
long-distance  casting,  66,  69, 

71,  155,  214,  332. 
maximum  fishing  cast,  342. 
not   all   of   fly   fishing,   339, 

340. 
position  of  body  and  unem- 
ployed arm,  324. 
position  of  elbow,  320. 


442 


Index, 


Casting  the  fly,  position  of  wrist 
on  back  cast,  323. 
position  of  wrist  on  forward 

cast,  324. 
position  on  back  cast,  321. 
position  on  front  cast,  329. 
postponing    back    cast,    344, 

347,  349,  350. 
practice  of  left  hand,  330. 
purpose  of  casting,  341. 
side  cast,  331. 
the  forward  cast,  327,  329. 
the  pause,  326. 
the  strike,  28,  332,  342,  363. 
with  two-handed   rod,   436. 
Cedar  for   rods,    171. 
Celluloid    as    a    water  -  proofing 
discussed,  59. 
coated  lines,  59. 
Cements   for  ferrules,   224. 
Cheap      tackle,      experimenting 

with,   167. 
Click  of  reels,  141. 

springs,   148. 
Comparative      weight      of      rod 

woods,  tables,  197,  205. 
Competition  in  angling,  313. 
Composite  rods,   202. 
Cutting,  selection,  and  seasoning 
rod  wood,  {^ee  Rod  Material.) 

D. 

Dagame  wood,  197,  199. 
Desiderata  in  fly-rods,  157. 

gut,  103. 

lines,  64. 
Dowelled  ferrules,  230. 
Dowelled  vs.  simple  ferrules,  231, 

304. 
Draw  filing,  271. 
Drawn  gut,  94. 

Drawn  tubing  for  ferrules,  242. 
Drop  flies,  how  attached,  116. 


Drop  flies,  how  handled,  156. 

how  spaced,  120. 
Dyed  gut,  visibility  of,  109,  381, 

388,  396. 
Dyeing  gut,  loss  of  strength  by, 
108. 
silk-worm  gut,  107. 


E. 


Enamelled  water-proof  lines,  57, 

63. 
English  lines,  58. 

rods,  151. 
Experimenting        with        cheap 

tackle,  167. 
Experiments   in  gut-making,   86, 
95. 
on    best    color    for    leaders, 

381,  388,  397. 
on  color  of  lines,  403. 
on  strength  of  trout,  133. 
to    test    strength    of    trout, 
129. 
Eyed  hooks,  31,  35,  37. 
advantage  of,  32,  33. 
knots  for,  120. 


F. 


Ferrules,  215,  228. 
blacking,  245. 
care  in  use  of,  250. 
cements  for,  224. 
dowelled  ferrules,  230. 
dowelled  vs.  simple  ferrules, 

231,  304. 
fastening,  223. 
fastening  pins  for,  225,  233, 

255,  304. 
fitting,  222,  223,  243. 
for  hexagonal  joints,   286. 
from  tubing,  242. 
general  discussion  of,  231. 


Index. 


443 


Ferrules,  hour-glass,  240,  306. 
repair  of  breaks  at,  304. 
separating,  241,  309. 
sizes  and  lengths  for,  228. 
Fish  -  hooks,   angle   of   efficiency, 

18. 
barbless  hooks,  18,  27. 
bronzed    and    blacked,    visi- 
bility compared,  39. 
bronzed  hooks,  36,  37,  38. 
comments  on  same,    19. 
eyed  hooks,  37. 
holding  power,  16. 
how  made,  44. 
how  tested,  49. 
how  to  criticise  and  select, 

22. 
lacquering,  37,  48. 
lightness    and    neatness    of, 

16. 
Limerick,  round,  and  Kirby 

bends,  17. 
loop  -  eyed   hooks,   their   ad- 

tage,  32,  33. 
mechanics  of,  11,  19. 
O'Shaughnessy  bends,  27. 
overfineness  of  wire,  13,  24. 
penetration  of,  14,   19. 
Pennell  hook,  27,  31. 
Pennell's  remarks  on,  12. 
short-shanked  hooks,  24. 
side-bend  discussed,  26. 
sizes  of,  36. 
small  barb,  25. 
Sneck  bend,  17,  26. 
Sproat  bend,  17,  25,  27,  31. 
theoretically     perfect     hook 

impossible,  26. 
turn-down    loop-eyed    hooks, 

31,  35,  37. 
Fishing  at  Rangely  Lakes,  352, 

358. 
by  ladies,  434. 
color  of  dress  when,  408. 


Fishing,  effect  of  ripple  on,  395. 
in  British  Columbia,  370. 
in  Maine  waters,  28.  75.  315, 

337,  347,  352,  358. 
in    streams,    311,    344,    407, 

417. 
playing    fish    when    wading, 

417. 
points    for    beginners,    344, 

357,  402. 
striking  trout,  28,  332,  342, 

36.3. 
wading,  407,  417. 
Fishing-lines.   (/See  Lines.) 
Fishing  tackle,  best  quality  only 

to  be  used,  31. 
Fitting  line  to  rod,  67,  69. 
Flies,  appearance  in  water.  40. 
drop  flies,  116,  120,  156. 
for  large  trout,  366,  377. 
from     what     depth     visible, 

404. 
how  attached  to  leader,  116, 

120. 
management  on  water,   156, 

344,  357,  360. 
management,  rules  for,  344. 
repairing  snell,  310. 
selection  of,  340,  351,  355. 
with    snell,    loop,    and   loop- 
eyed  compared.  32. 
Flv-casting.      (/S^ee    Casting    the 

Fly.) 
Form  of  rod  handle,  253. 


G. 

German  silver,  244. 

to  blacken,  245. 
Glue,  liquid,  300. 

use  of,  178,  270,  273,  300. 
Greenheart,   179. 
Growth  of  trout,  423. 
Guides  in  Maine,  359,  378. 


444 


Index, 


Gut,  drawn,  94. 

silk -worm,   79.      (See  Silk- 
worm Gut.) 


Handle  for   rod,   208,   247,   250, 
252. 
form  of,  253. 
Hickory,  for  rods,  174. 
Hobnails,  408,  413. 
Hooks.      [See  Fish-hooks.) 
Hornbeam,       ( See    Ironwood. ) 
Hour-glass  ferrules,  240,  306. 


I. 


Independent  rod  and  handle,  208, 

247. 
Ink  dye  for  leaders,  108. 
Invisible  knot,  294,  309. 
Ironbark  wood,  196. 
Ironwood,  native,  176. 


J. 


Jucaro  prieto  wood,  198,  200. 

K. 

Keepers  and  rings,  257. 
Knots,  attaching  tail-fly,  120. 
fastening     leader     to     line, 

118. 
for  eyed  hooks,  120. 
for  fastening  windings,  294. 
for  keepers  and  rings,   257, 

293. 
for  leaders,  112. 
the  invisible,  294,  309. 
the  water,  115. 
to  learn  to  tie,  116,  119,  120, 
291.  V-,^ 

Kranji  wood,  195. 


Ladies'  rods,  435. 
Lancewood,  169. 

Landing-net,   course  when  miss- 
ing, 312. 
for  stream  fishing,  417. 
Laslett's  experiments  on  woods, 

197. 
Leaders,    72.      {See    Silk  -  worm 
Gut.) 
attaching  tail-fly,  120. 
bargains  in  purchase  of,  106. 
care  of,  138. 

color  of,  109,  381,  388,  397. 
experiments   to   test   strain, 

129. 
fastening  to  line,  118. 
knots  for,  113. 
length  of,   119. 
making,  112. 
measuring  thickness,  106. 
strain    on    in    fishing,    128, 

133. 
tapering,  125. 
testing,     cases     illustrating 

its  importance,  126. 
testing  strength  of,  106,  125, 

378. 
visibility  of,   109,  381,  388, 
396,  402. 
Length  of  fly-rods,  150,  214. 
Lines,  boiled  silk,  53. 
celluloid  coated,  59. 
color  of,  403. 
cotton-centred,  56. 
desiderata,  64. 
enamelled  waterproofed,  57, 

63. 
English,   58. 
fastening  to  leader,  118. 
judging  quality  of,  56,   69, 

67,  74. 
level  lines,  65. 


Index. 


445 


Lines,  marking,  438. 

material  of,  51,  55. 

raw  silk,   53. 

sizes  of,  63,  67,  69. 

splicing,   311. 

tapered   lines,   65,   67. 

testing,  66,  74. 

waterproof,  55,  57. 

waterproofing,  56,  58,  71. 
Linoleum,   manufacture  of,   57. 
Liquid  glue,  300. 
Long-distance  casting,  66,  69,  71, 
155,  214,  332. 

M. 

Mahoe,  for  rods,  172. 
Maine  fishing.      (/Sfee  Fishing.) 
Making   rods.      {&ee   Rod   Mak- 
ing.) 
tips,   265. 
Manufacture  of  gut  from  native 
worms,  85. 
silk- worm  gut,  79. 
Material  for  lines,  51. 
Measuring     thickness     of     gut, 

106. 
Mechanics   of  the   fish-hook,    11, 

19. 
Montreal  fly,  377. 
Moths,  precautions  against,  418. 

N. 

Number   of  rings   for   rod,   257, 
262. 

O. 

Osage-orange,  188. 

P. 

Paddlewood,  187. 
Parmachenee  Belle,  366. 


Penetration  of  fish-hooks.      (/Sfee 

Fish-hooks. ) 
Pennell's  remarks  on  fish-hooks, 
12. 
comments  on  same,  19. 
Pingow  wood,  195. 
Planes  for  rod-making,  211. 
Purpleheart  wood,  201. 
Pyengadu  wood,  194. 


Rangely  Lakes,  Maine,  352,  358. 
Reels,  140. 

aluminum,    146. 

aluminum   alloys,    146. 

automatic,   145. 

axle  of  spool,  144. 

click  of,  141. 

click  spring,  148. 

diagram    of    click    construc- 
tion,  142. 

location  of,  148. 

material  of,  146. 

seat,  251. 

shape  and  construction,  140. 
Repairs,  233,  290. 

breaks  at  ferrule,   304. 

broken  rod,  297,  313. 

broken  tip,  313. 

fitting  reel,  311. 

fly  snell,  310. 

loose  reel  screws,  312. 

missing  rings,  307. 

missing  tip  ring,  308. 

splicing,  267,  297,  304. 

winding  with  silk,  291,  302. 
Rings  and  keepers,  257,  291. 
Rod  case,  249,  413. 
Rod-handle,  208,  247,  250,  253. 
Rod-making,  210. 

adjusting  rod,   226,  259. 

cements  for  ferrules,  224. 

determining  taper,  216,  219. 


446 


Index. 


Kod-making,  draw  filing,  271. 

finishing,  220,  226,  257. 

fitting    and     fastening    fer- 
rules, 222,  223,  225. 

four  -  strand    split    bamboo, 
266. 

general  remarks,  212,   215. 

gluing  bamboo,  178,  270,  273. 

proportioning  rods,  216,  219. 

rings  and  keepers,  257,  262. 

rounding  joints,  226. 

seasoning,  174,  206,  220. 

six  -  strand     split     bamboo, 
275. 

split-bamboo  tips,  265. 

straightening  by  heat,  218. 

testing  material,  179,  220. 

tips,  265. 

tools  for,  211,  217,  221. 

use  of  glue,  178. 

varnishing,  221,  255. 

wrapping  with  silk,  257,  262, 
291. 
Rod  material,  161,  192,  212. 

Alaska  cedar,  192. 

ash  and  lancewood,  169. 

bamboo,    161. 

beef  wood,  or  bullitwood,  186. 

bethabara,    181. 

bodock,  188. 

bois  d'Are    ( osage  -  orange ) , 
188. 

cedar,   171. 

chow,  195. 

composite  rods,  202. 

dagame,   197,   199. 

domestic,  191. 

greenheart,  179. 

hickory,  174. 

hornbeam,  176. 

ironbark,    196. 

ironwood,  native,    176. 

jucaro  prieto,  198,  200. 

kranji,  195. 


Rod  material,  lancewood,  169. 

mahoe,  172. 

paddlewood,    or    rollerwood, 
187. 

pingow,  195. 

purpleheart,  201. 

pyengadu,   194. 

shadblow,  190. 

snakewood,     or     letterwood, 
184. 

split  bamboo,  161. 

table  of  weights  of,  197,  205. 

washaba,  183. 
Rod    wood,    cutting,    seasoning, 
and  selection  of,  174,  206, 
220,  256. 

straightening  by  heat,  218. 

testing,  179,  220. 
Rods,  action  of,  153. 

bringing  tip  to  butt  as  test, 
157. 

cause  of  breaking,   159. 

composite  rods,  202. 

desiderata,   157. 

English,  151. 

featherweight,  152. 

fitting  line  to,  67,  69. 

for  ladies,  435. 

length  of,  150,  154. 

selection  of,  208. 

throwing  apart,  241. 
Rubbers,  wading,  415. 

S. 

Selection   and   seasoning  of  rod 

wood,  174,  206,  220,  256. 
Selection  of  bamboo,  276. 

fish-hooks,  22. 

flies,  340,  351,  355. 

leaders,  103,  125. 

lines,  66,  74. 

rod,  208. 
Separating  ferrules,  241,  309. 


Index, 


447 


Shadblow,  190. 
Silk  for  lines,  51. 

for   winding   on   rings,   etc., 
261. 
Silk-worm  gut,  79. 

bargains  in  purchase  of,  106. 

classification  of,  105. 

dyeing  of,  107,  110,  402. 

measuring  thickness  of,  106. 

to  judge  its  quality,   103. 

trade  names,  83. 
Silk-worms,  native,  84,  89. 

native,  gut  from,  86,  95. 
Silver  Doctor,  368. 
Silver  tinsel  to  be  lacquered,  368. 
Simple  ferrules,  231,  304. 
Sizes  of  lines,  64,  67. 
Snakewood,  184. 
Splicing   breaks,   etc.,   267,   297, 

304. 
Splicing  line,  311. 
Split  bamboo  rods,  161. 
Splitting  bamboo,  266. 
Spring-balance,    testing,    432. 

use  of,  431. 
Springs,  tempering  of,  148. 
Strength  of  silk,  wet  and  dry,  54. 

trout,  128,  133,  158. 
Striking  trout,  28,  332,  342,  363. 


T. 


Table  of  comparative  weight  and 
length  of  trout,  433. 
of  weights  of  rod  wood,  197, 
205. 
Tail-flies,  tying  to  leader,  120. 
Tapered  lines,  65,  67. 
Test  your  tackle,  49,  69,  106. 
Testing  bamboo,  279. 
fish-hooks,  49. 
leaders,   125. 

leaders,  cases  illustrating  its 
importance,  126. 


Testing  lines,  66,  74. 

rod  wood,  179,  220. 

spring-balance,  432. 
Tinsel  should  be  lacquered,  368. 
Tips  for  rods,  173,  181,  199,  265. 

repair  of,  313. 
Tools  for  rod-making,  211,  217, 

221. 
Trout,  anatomy  of  eye  of,  386. 

computing  weight  of,  432. 

conduct  of,  352,  354,  387. 

fasting  powers  of,  422. 

flies  for  large,  366. 

from    what    depth   will   rise 
to  fly,  405. 

growth  of,  423. 

hearing,  380. 

killing,  417. 

longevity  of,  420,  423. 

sense  of  smell,  405. 

strength  of,  128,  130,  158. 

table  of  comparative  weight 
and  length,  433. 

vision  of,  379.  381,  383. 

weight  of,  420. 


V. 


Varnishing  rods,  221,  255. 
split  bamboo  rods,  287. 
wrappings,  264. 
Visibility    of    leaders,    109,    381, 
388,  396. 
objects  through  water,  404. 
shadow  of  rod  on  water,  396, 

405. 
to  trout  of  objects  on  land, 
393. 
Vision  of  trout,  379,  381,  383. 

W. 

Wading  clothes,  408,  414. 

handling  fish  when,  417. 


448 


Index, 


Wading,  health  precautions,  415. 

rubbers,  415. 

shoes,  408,  413,  414,  415. 

staff,  416. 
Washaba,  183. 
Waterproof  lines,  55,  56. 
Waterproofing  in  vacuo,  58. 

lines,  effect  on  strength,  55. 
Weighing  trout,  431. 
Weights  of  rod  wood,  205. 

of  trout,  computing,  432. 


Winding  repairs  with  silk,  291, 

302. 
Wood  for  rods.      (/See  Rod  Ma- 
terial. ) 
table  of  weights  of,  197,  205. 
Wood,  selection  and  seasoning  of, 

174,  206. 
Wrapping  on  rings  and  keepers, 

257,  262. 
Wrappings,    Tarnishing   of    silk, 

264. 


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